‘The rising temperature is good for the cashew crop’
Shoma Patnaik
Panaji: Though Goa’s soaring temperature is sparking forest fires and leading to other problems, it is, however, bringing back Feni moments for the residents due to better availability of the heritage drink vis-à-vis the previous few seasons.
Speaking to this daily on Thursday, distillers said the present season looks good for the Feni industry with all stakeholders expected to benefit from an upswing in the economy of the state’s indigenous liquor.
President of Goa Cashew Feni Distillers and Bottlers Association (GCFDBA) Gurudutta Bhakta pointed out that the rising temperature is good for the cashew crop and, in turn, it will boost the production of Feni.
“After two-three years of hardships, the conditions this year are just right for the industry. The cashew flowering so far is good and the fruiting is also good. If it continues, we can expect a good crop, which means distillers will receive adequate supply of cashew apples for production,” said Bhakta.
Feni production has started in the state since the last one week with the arrival of the new cashew crop. There are about 2,500-odd distillers involved in the making of the traditional drink.
In the previous year, due to the disastrous cashew crop, the entire supply chain of Feni comprising of distillers, bottlers and sellers was badly affected due to a fall in production.
The price of raw Feni in the 2022 season had shot up to Rs 8,500 per can of 35 litres.
This year, the GCFDBA expects the price of raw Feni to be around Rs 4,000 per 35-litre can and commensurately lower priced for customers.
“The industry is not carrying inventory. Previous stocks of Feni are over. Distillers can expect a decent price and can do good business this year,” explained Bhakta. He said the fears of forest fires damaging cashew plantations are not true. “Cashew plantations in some areas of Valpoi got damaged because of forest fires but it has not affected other plantations,” said the GCFDBA president.
Goa’s Feni has been granted the geographical indication (GI) tag and the government in August 2021 notified the Goa Feni Policy 2021. The policy aims at taking the heritage drink to the world through exports and increasing the revenues of small distillers and workers in the hinterland who are involved in making of the traditional drink.
“Feni popularity is getting better each year, but the industry continues to face challenges. The biggest challenge is increasing production of the drink. The government must seriously look at increasing cashew yield for higher sales of Feni,” said Cazulo Premium Feni owner Hansel Vaz.
The state also exports Feni. However, merely two-three distillers are in the export market. Further, two years of COVID-19 followed by a poor cashew crop in the previous year have virtually halted the exports.