Program

AICA Cashew Convention

Program Schedule

Day 1 - Thursday, July 24, 2025
1:00 pm onwards

Room Check-in & Delegate Registration

1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Networking Lunch

3:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Masterclass on "Technology for making dry-roasted cashews, cashew cheese, and coated products"

Curated by:
#
Dr. Babylatha R
Principal Technical Officer
CSIR - Central Food Technological Research Institute
(English)
#
Dr. Arunkumar Panneerselvam
Principal Scientist
CSIR - Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysuru
(English)
4:30 pm to 5:00 pm

Exhibition Opening and Walk-through by the Guests of Honour

5:00 pm to 6:30 pm

Inaugural Session

Chief Guest:
#
Thiru M R K Paneerselvam
Honourable Minister for Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu
Guests of Honour:
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Thiru V. Dakshinamoorthy
IAS, Agriculture Production Commissioner/Secretary to Government , Agriculture Farmers Welfare Department
#
Thiru T. Abraham
IAS, Commissioner Commissionerate of Agricultural Marketing & Agri Business, Government of Tamil Nadu
#
Smt Rajalakshmi Devaraj
IDAS, Zonal Addl.DGFT
#
Smt Shobana Kumar
Assistant General Manager & Regional Head, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)
#
Shri Gunjan Jain
Chairman, Nuts and Dry Fruits Council (India)
#
Thiru P Kumaravel Pandian
IAS, Director of Horticulture and Plantation crops
AICA Board:
#
Mr Rahul Kamath
President
#
Mr Ramakrishnan M
General Secretary
#
Mr Phani Raghavalu M
Governor
6:30 pm to 6:45 pm

MoU Signing Ceremony

6:45 pm to 7:45 pm

Roundtable session "Strategizing Future of the Indian Cashew Industry with the state heads of cashew processing"

Chair:
#
Mr Rahul Kamath
President, All India Cashew Association
Convener:
#
Mr Ramakrishnan M
General Secretary, All India Cashew Association
Rep from states:
#
Mr Prabhakar Patro
All Odisha Cashew Processors Association
#
Mr Phani Raghavalu M
Andhra Pradesh Cashew Manufacturers Association
#
Mr Anowar Uddin
Bengal Cashew Association
#
Mr Rohit Zantye
Goa Cashew Manufacturers Association
#
Mr Naresh Patel
Gujarat Cashew Processors Association
#
Mr A K Rao
Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers Association
#
Mr Suresh Bowlekar
Maharashtra Cashew Manufacturers Association
#
Mr Vikas Gupta
Secretary NCPWA
Mewa Mishri Enterprises Pvt Ltd
#
Mr Pratap Nair
South India Cashew Manufacturers Association
#
Mr Malarvasagam N
Tamilnadu Cashew Processors & Exporters Association
8:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Welcome Cocktail and Dinner Sponsored by Lion Overseas Pte Ltd

Day 2 - Friday, July 25, 2025
9:15 am to 9:30 am

Announcement

9:30 am to 10:00 am

Presentation: Global Cashew Market in 2025: Trends and Opportunities

#
Mr Gaurav Patil
Global Business Head of Cashews & Macadamia Processing
Olam Food Ingredients (OFI) (Online)
(English)
10:00 am to 11:15 am

Session-1: Developing an Action Agenda for Increasing Raw Cashew Nut Production to 1,000,000 tons by 2030

Chair:
#
Mr Rohit Zantye
Vice President
All India Cashew Association
Speakers:
#
Dr. Femina
Director, Directorate of Cashewnut and Cocoa Development (DCCD) (Online)
(English)
#
Mr I D Pandey
CFO, IFFCO Kisan SEZ Limited
(English)
#
Mr A K Rao
President, KCMA
#
Dr. Dinakara Adiga
Director, ICAR-DIRECTORATE OF CASHEW RESEARCH (Online)
(English)
11:15 am to 11:20 am

Felicitation of progressive farmers

11:20 am to 11:45 am

Networking Break High Tea Sponsored by S V Traders, Amritsar

11:45 am to 12:45 pm

Session-2: Securing Raw Cashew Supplies from Africa - What Should We Do?

Chair:
#
Mr Rajiv Kumar
Owner, Radson Exports
Speakers:
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Mr Alfred Francis
CEO, Cashewnut Board of Tanzania
#
Mr Alex N’guettia Assouman
Association of Cashew nut Exporters, Cote d’Ivoire (AEC-CI)
(English) (French)
#
Mr Godfrey Malekano
CEO, Tanzania Mercantile Exchange
#
Mr Pierre Alexandre Lette
Legal Director of Warehouse Receipt System Regulatory Authority, Ministry of Industry & Trade, Senegal
(English)
#
Mr Ibrahim Sanfo
President, African Cashew Alliance (ACA)
(English)
12:45 pm to 1:30 pm

Session-3: Broker's Forum

Chair:
#
Mr Phani Raghavalu M
Governor, All India Cashew Association
Speakers:
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Mr Bhupendra Kumar Girdharlal
Managing Partner, Victory International
#
Mr Vidyasagar Rao
Cashew Commission Agent, Maruthi Cashews
#
Mr Madan Chand Jain
Bagavathy Cashews
1:30 pm to 2:30 pm

Networking Lunch

2:30 pm to 3:30 pm

Session-4: Technology and Innovation

Chair:
#
Mr Sathish Arokiaraj
Director, Regal Farm Industries Pvt Ltd
Speakers:
#
Mr Ethan Truong
Director, CMV Group
#
Mr Sasisekar K
Founder & CEO, nanoPix ISS Pvt Ltd
(English)
#
Mr Vasant Barkade
Director, Taiho India
(English)
#
Mr GSN Raju
Managing Director, Vagmisun Cashew Integrated Solutions, & authorized channel partner for MEYER Colour Sorters
(English)
Special Interest Sessions (Parallel Session)
3:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Demonstration Lecture on Coating Cashew Kernel

#
Mr Deepak Kumar
Chocolate Panning Academy by Aadhya International
3:30 pm to 4:00 pm

Networking Break High Tea Sponsored by S V Traders, Amritsar

4:00 pm to 4:45 pm

Debate-1: Is it Time for Reducing the Grades for Better Marketing of Cashews in India?

Chair:
#
Mr Adeeth Kalbavi
MD
Kalbavi Consumer Foods Pvt Ltd
(English)
Speakers:
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Mr Achin Agarwal
Director, S K B Nuts Private Limited
#
Mr C.R. Selvamani
General Manager, CRP Group of Export
#
Mr Sukesh Aggarwal
Director, UB Aggarwal Group
#
Mr Ravindra Mehta
Director, Class Alzone Pvt Ltd
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

AICA AGM

7:00 pm to 11:00 pm

Gala Dinner

Day 3 - Saturday, July 26, 2025
9:30 am to 10:00 am

Presentation: Unlocking Value and Creating Wealth: Options and Opportunities

#
Mr Arun Dayanithi
Family Business Advisor & Investment Banker
Founder
Dhrona Consulting
(English)
10:00 am to 10:30 am

"Learning from Almond, Pistachios and Walnut Sectors on Generic Promotion and Marketing"

#
Mr Sumit Saran
Director
SS Associates
10:30 am to 10:40 am

NDFC Announcement

10:40 am to 10:50 am

Presentation by

#
Mr Senthilkumar Subramanian
Chief Executive Officer
Dakshin Bharat Gateway Terminal Pvt Ltd
(English)
10:50 am to 11:00 am

Presentation by

#
Mr Mohamed Fazallullah Baig
Divisional Manager
Forex Regional Marketing Unit, Chennai, Integrated Treasury Wing, Canara Bank
(English)
11:15 am to 11:20 am

Announcement

11:20 am to 12:15 pm

Session-5: Interaction with Kernel Buyer

Chair:
#
Mr Prakash Kalbavi
Managing Partner
Kalbavi Consumer Foods Pvt Ltd
Speakers:
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Mr Ashok Kumar Jain
Cashew King Nut & Commodities
#
Mr Varun Nevatia
S V Traders, Amritsar
#
Mr Vikas Nahar
CEO, Happilo (Online)
#
Mr Mayank Rastogi
Blinkit India Pvt Ltd
#
Mr Vinay Malpani
Mewa Mitra
12:15 pm to 1:15 pm

Session-6: Nextgen Session

Chair:
#
Mr Bola Rajat Kamath
Director - Sales & Marketing
Bolas Food Private Limited
Speakers:
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Mr SK Tanbir Uddin
Director, Burj Al Mannat International
#
Mr Mehul Verma
3rd Generation Promoter, Ajay Cashew Industries, Odisha
#
Ms Kareena Malla
Managing Director, Kannan Cashew Products
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Mr Aarnav Aggarwal
3rd Generation Promoter, UB Aggarwal Group
#
Mr Vivek Falod
Ahar Group / Falod Dry Fruits
#
Ms Vasavi Ramanathan
Two40 Cashews Exims
1:15 pm to 1:30 pm

Vote of thanks

1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

Networking Lunch

3:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Masterclass on "Brand Building in Cashew Perspective by an Anthropologist"

Chair:
#
Dr. G.V. Suresh
Managing Partner, Anthrolabs Research, Bangalore
(English)
5:00 pm

Exhibition Closes and End of Conference

- END OF THE CONVENTION -