Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI)

What Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI) does

The Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI) is an autonomous, government-established non-profit body founded in 1955 under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, with oversight from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. The council was created to promote exports of cashew kernels and Cashewnut Shell Liquid (CNSL) from India, and provides an institutional intermediary platform connecting foreign importers with domestic member exporters across roughly 60 countries.

CEPCI's core products and services fall into three buckets. First, it facilitates trade through enquiry circulation, exhibition participation, and overseas publicity campaigns; it runs CEPCI Pavilions at Gulfood Dubai and other fairs, plus its own KajuIndia Global Cashew Summit. Second, it administers quality infrastructure, including a NABL-accredited CEPCI Laboratory and a 33-grade cashew kernel classification mandated under the Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act 1963, alongside an online RCMC registration portal. Third, it operates grant-in-aid programs under the XII Plan Scheme (33.33% grant up to Rs. 100 lakhs for mechanization, plus funding for quality upgrades and food safety certifications) and issues industry publications such as the Directory of Indian Cashew Exporters and the monthly Cashew Bulletin.

The revenue model is a mix of three tiers of annual membership fees (Ordinary: entry Rs. 20,000 + annual Rs. 8,500 + trade contribution Rs. 2.5 per carton; Associate: Rs. 3,000 + Rs. 6,000; Supporting: Rs. 20,000) together with publication sales and government support for export promotion activities. Pricing is denominated partly in rupees and trade contributions are routed through cartel-level administrative accounts. CEPCI is governed by an elected Committee of Administration drawn from member exporters and operates from Cashew Bhavan in Kollam, Kerala, the historical cashew processing hub of India.

Name

Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI)

Legal name

The Cashew Export Promotion Council of India

Website

https://cashewindia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1955

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI) is a Government of India statutory body, established in 1955, that promotes exports of Indian cashew kernels and CNSL by connecting foreign importers with its network of 187+ member exporters through trade fairs, enquiry circulation, quality certification, and grant programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cashew Export Promotion Services

NAICS

Regulation of Agricultural Marketing and Commodities (926140), Regulation of Agricultural Marketing and Commodities (92614)

akta.pro primary industry

Accredited Certification Bodies (CBs) – ISO 22000/FSSC 22000/BRCGS/SQF (AFALACAA)

Keywords

• Cashew export promotion
• International trade facilitation
• Cashew quality testing
• Export market development
• Member trade services

Headquarters

HQ city

KollamÊ, Kerala

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: The council generates revenue through various membership fees including entrance fees, annual membership fees, and trade contributions from Ordinary, Associate, and Supporting members. Membership periods run from April 1 to March 31 annually.
2. Publications and Subscriptions: Sale of publications including Directory of Indian Cashew Exporters, Indian Cashew Grades Folder, Cashew Statistics, Cashew Machinery Hand Book, and subscriptions to the monthly Cashew Bulletin
3. Export Promotion Services: Government-supported export promotion activities including participation in international exhibitions, publicity campaigns abroad, and facilitating trade between foreign importers and domestic exporters

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CEPCI is a Government of India-established export promotion council that represents Indian cashew exporters and promotes cashew kernels and cashewnut shell liquid abroad. It connects foreign importers with member exporters, circulates trade enquiries, organizes international promotion, supports testing and certification through a NABL-accredited laboratory, and administers member and export assistance programs.

Product overview

CEPCI is a trade promotion council established by the Government of India in 1955. It operates a platform of core products (Cashew Kernels, Cashewnut Shell Liquid, Raw Cashew Nuts) and member services (export assistance grants, testing/certification via CEPCI Lab, trade enquiry circulation, training programmes, and publications). The council does not offer a unified software product but provides institutional services including Grant-in-Aid programs, XII Plan Scheme subsidies, trade fair organization, and member directories to promote Indian cashew exports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• KajuIndia: Related brand website for cashew industry information and promotion

Products and services

• Cashew Kernels Processed cashew kernels obtained through roasting, steaming, shelling, and peeling of raw cashewnuts, graded into white or scorched wholes, pieces, splits, and butts, with roasted, salted, flavoured, and coated variants and value-added products such as cashew powder, butter, and drinks, offered to member exporters and international buyers.
• Cashewnut Shell Liquid (CNSL) By-product of raw cashew nut processing, purified and distilled into Cardanol, used in brake linings, friction dust, resins, paint, and lacquer, marketed for industrial manufacturers through member exporters.
• Raw Cashew Nut (RCN) Raw cashew nuts sourced for processing into cashew kernels and cashewnut shell liquid, traded through Council-supported channels for member processors and exporters.
• Testing and Certification Services NABL-accredited laboratory services that collect samples and perform testing and certification for edible nuts, food grains, cooking oil, sugar, and cashew products, available to members and the food industry.
• Trade Enquiry Circulation Circulates trade enquiries received from foreign importers for cashew kernels, raw cashew nuts, and allied products among Council members for follow-up action.
• Ordinary Membership Paid ordinary membership for exporters of cashew kernels or cashewnut shell liquid, with an entrance fee, annual membership fee, and a trade contribution per carton.
• Associate Membership Paid associate membership for manufacturers, processors, traders, or converters of cashew and allied products who are not qualified for ordinary membership, with entrance and annual fees.
• Supporting Membership Paid supporting membership for service providers such as brokers, quality inspection agencies, shipping lines, custom house agents, and surveyors serving the cashew export industry, billed annually.

Quantifiable outcome

• India accounts for over 65% of world cashew kernel exports
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ITPO (India Trade Promotion Organisation)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 17 February 2019CEPCI organizes participation in international exhibitions through ITPO (ITPO) pavilion at events like Foodex Japan 2020. ITPO facilitates participation of Indian exporters in trade fairs abroad.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO): Government agency under the Ministry of Commerce that organizes India's participation in international trade fairs — an actual operational partner of CEPCI for events like Foodex Japan 2020, with directly overlapping trade promotion mandate.
• Spices Board of India: Indian government body for promotion and development of the spices industry, including export promotion, grading, quality certification, and international trade fair participation — a near-identical operating model applied to a different commodity.
• African Cashew Alliance (ACA): Industry alliance for Africa's cashew value chain spanning producers, processors, and traders. Directly comparable as a continent-level cashew promotion and development body serving competing cashew origins.
• MPEDA (Marine Products Export Development Authority): Statutory Indian government export promotion body for marine products under the same Ministry of Commerce & Industry. Closely analogous institutional model, governance structure, and member services portfolio as CEPCI.
• Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO): Apex body of Indian export promotion councils and trade associations. Directly comparable as a higher-level peer in the same institutional ecosystem, representing export councils and providing services overlapping with CEPCI's mandate.
• APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority): Indian government export promotion body for agricultural and processed food products. Directly comparable as another statutory export promotion council under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, supporting a different but adjacent commodity set with similar facilitation, certification, and grant functions.
• Coffee Board of India: Statutory Indian government body for coffee promotion with member services, quality grading, export promotion, and international marketing — structurally identical to CEPCI but applied to coffee.
• Cashew Exporters Association of Nigeria: National-level cashew exporter association in Nigeria, one of Africa's largest RCN origins and an emerging cashew processing hub. Functionally analogous trade body focused on the same commodity from a competing origin.
• Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas): Industry association representing Vietnam's cashew processing and export sector — the largest direct competitor to Indian cashew exports globally. Operates with very similar member services, international promotion, and trade facilitation functions.
• Tea Board of India: Statutory body under India's Ministry of Commerce promoting tea exports, with analogous licensing, quality control, export promotion, and member services functions applied to a different agricultural commodity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/cepciindia
• Facebookfacebook.com/cepciindia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cashew-export-promotion-council-of-india-cepci-

Compliance12 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI)