Low yield, manpower put a cork on cashew feni distillation this season in Goa

PANAJI: Even though this year’s cashew season has been relatively better than the last, when unseasonal rainfall had largely impacted yield, distillers said they would have to wind up operations before the first week of May due to insufficient crop.
Many of the ‘bhattis’ — traditional stills used to distill feni — which started production by mid-February are set to wind up operations before the end of the month, weeks before they normally do.
The All Goa Distillers and Bottlers Association president Gurudutta Bhakta said that with not enough cashew apples to continue operations, he will close for the season in a week. “We are better off this season as compared to the last, but overall the cashew yield has dropped, which makes it difficult to run bhattis,” said Bhakta.
While the drop in yield has been blamed on the weather — untimely rains or harsh cold, which cause flowers to dry — shortage of manpower has amplified difficulties for the trade.
Founder of Cazulo Premium Feni, Hansel Vaz, said that over the past few years weather fluctuations have increased. However, this year the season has been really good, he said.
“We have got around 60% of the crop. While seasonal variations in yield are always seen, their frequency is increasing,” he said, adding that most will wind up a week or two early.
Managing director of Haldankar Liquor Industries, Tukaram Haldankar, said that unlike the last season, the quality of fruit has been generally good this time.
“Last year, the quality of cashew apples suffered due to rainfall after the trees had borne fruits,” he said. Bhakta said that though production this season has certainly been higher than in the past three years, the yield will be down by around 20%.
Cashew production has dropped over the years, with no new cultivations happening. “Trees that were cut or died have not been replaced. Plus, we do not have the manpower to work in cashew orchards,” he said.
Cashew cultivation in the neighbouring states has gone up, and their fruit is being pushed into Goa. “Many of the distilleries in the border areas, mostly those in North Goa, procure cashew apples from across the border,” said a trader.
Goa is the only state in the country that manufactures feni. Ideally, they should not import cashew apples from other states, but many do so because a shortage is felt every season, said the trader.
There are around 200 bhattis, and they will not be able to function if cashew apples from border districts of Karnataka or Maharashtra are not imported.
“Trucks carrying cashew apples enter Goa, but the authorities look the other way,” he added. The state’s total area under cashew plantations is 56,890ha with an annual production of 26,032 tonne. Director of agriculture Nevil Alphonso said that 61ha more were brought under cultivation in the last few years. “But our productivity is less compared to other states,” he said.