A food exhibition in Japan has given hope to cashew exporters in India. The exhibition, 'Foodex Japan 2007', featured Indian cashew products like 'kaju kathli' and 'halwa' which attracted several inquiries at the event.

According to officials, if importers in Japan -- India's fifth largest cashew export destination -- show interest in Indian products like this it will boost the export of broken grade cashew.

Japan imports around 6,100 tonnes of cashews with India enjoying 80 per cent share with average exports of about 5,000 tonnes during the last three years.

Cashew Exports Promotion Council of India (CEPCI) sources said the important outcome of this exhibition for the Indian cashew industry lies in the significant growth of Japanese confectionary and food industry.

The confectionary and food industry sector is registering an annual growth of over 20 per cent in Japan.

Of the total imports of cashew by Japan, almost over 90 per cent are wholes and the rest is in broken grades.

Officials said the CEPCI experiment of introducing value-added goodies such as the Indian 'kaju kathli' and 'halwa' at this exhibition has generated interest in Japanese industry. And the CEPCI is expecting an increase in broken grade's export.

This will be an added advantage to the Indian cashew exporters. At the interactive meetings, the major cashew importers in Japan have made a special request to the CEPCI to involve Japanese chefs in a programme with live demos of cashew-based recipes.

The CEPCI is targeting a growth of about 20 per cent in exports to Japan at an aggregate of about 6,000 tonnes starting from 2007-08.