Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) is a versatile by-product of the cashew industry. The nut has a shell of about 1/8 inch thickness inside which is a soft honey comb structure containing a dark reddish brown viscous liquid. It is called cashew nut shell liquid, which is the pericap fluid of the cashew nut. It is often considered as the better and cheaper material for unsaturated phenols. CNSL and the resins made from it are widely used in laminations, brake lining, electrical insulations, surface coatings, printing inks etc and therefore find a ready market.
Indian cashew nut industry has big market for CNSL. CNSL oil is used in industries hence there is good demand from industrially developed countries. The linear and quadratic trend models estimated India‘s cashew nut shell liquid export to be at 19,044.37 tonnes and 23,483.48 tonnes for the year 2020 respectively. India is the largest consumer and the second largest producer of cashew nut shell liquid in the world. This facilitates the development of new technologies and ensures a high quality product.
Few Indian major players are as under
· Golden Cashew Products Pvt. Ltd.
· Kerala State Cashew Devp. Corpn. Ltd.
· Padmavathi Cashews & Coffee Ltd.
· Pratap Cashew Co. Ltd.