The All India Cashew Association has urged the Union Commerce Ministry to act quickly against illegal imports of cashew kernels. M. Ramakrishnan, secretary of the association, wrote to Commerce Secretary Rakesh Agrawal highlighting the crisis. He said the cashew industry faces huge stress due to rising cashew prices and low domestic demand. This is making processing unprofitable for many units. Ramakrishnan pointed out that a big reason for the weak market is the surge in illegal cashew kernel imports. These imports enter India by wrongly declaring their product codes. Some are labeled as animal feed, cashew husk, or other unrelated items. Recently, plain cashew kernels have been misdeclared as "roasted cashews." The market is flooded mainly with kernels from Vietnam and African countries. Some Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are also misused to channel these imports. “These imports deceive consumers by being sold as Indian kernels, raising food safety concerns and damaging the reputation of domestic products,” said Ramakrishnan. These imported kernels are cheaper and of lower quality than Indian ones. Selling them as Indian cashews misleads buyers and damages India’s cashew brand. He warned that if this continues, many factories may shut down, risking jobs for over 10 lakh women workers in this labor-intensive sector. The association demanded strict checks on HSN codes, better customs verification at ports, and stopping SEZ misuse. They urged steps to protect consumers from mislabeled, low-quality products and to support fair trade for domestic processors.