The story
Kollam's cashew industry began in the 1920s, when traders started processing raw nuts imported from East Africa and grown locally, using the port at Kollam. Shelling and peeling were done by hand in large factories, employing mostly women. The town became India's cashew export centre and home of the Cashew Export Promotion Council. Rising costs and the shift of processing to other states and countries have shut many factories since the 2010s.
In numbers
At its peak, around 830 formal and informal cashew units across Kerala employed nearly 3,00,000 people, 90% of them women; only about 100 units remain active, supporting roughly 1,00,000 workers.
Kerala's once-thriving cashew industry pins its hopes on replanting and state-backed revival — South First · 2025The Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation runs 30 factories and posted a loss of ₹105.99 crore in 2023-24.
Kerala's once-thriving cashew industry pins its hopes on replanting and state-backed revival — South First · 2025Over 80 per cent of cashew units in Kollam shut in two years due to high operating costs, leaving 0.35 million people jobless, close to 90 per cent of them women (2018).
In 2 years, 80% cashew producing units closed in Kollam — Down To Earth · 2018
Ways in for a newcomer
- Value-added cashew products: flavoured, roasted, cashew butter
- Branded retail packs for domestic markets
- Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) extraction
- Cashew apple processing into juice, syrup and feni-type products
Problems the cluster faces
- High wages and processing costs compared to other states and Vietnam
- Dependence on imported raw nuts
- Factory closures and job losses for women workers
- Losses at public-sector factories
Businesses to start here
Cashew Nut Processing →Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) →Cashew Apple Syrup →Roasted Dry Nuts →