Several factors inhibited early use of the cashew nut. First, cashew fruit matures before the nut, so the fruit is spoiled by the time the nut can be harvested usefully. Second, the processing of cashew nuts is tedious and time-consuming. In the 1920s, however, a processing industry developed in India, and the nuts became more valuable than the fruit because they became so popular among Indian consumers. India maintained a virtual monopoly on cashew processing until the mid- 1970s. This monopoly was due to three factors.
1. India was the largest producer of wild cashews.
2. Early demand occurred in India, meaning that any other country would have to incur added transport charges in order to reach the Indian market.
3. Most importantly, the Indian workers were particularly adept at the process technology.
Cashew nut processing was very labor-intensive and required manual dexterity and low wage rates. The nut is contained beneath layers of shell and thin skin. To remove the shell, the nut must be placed in an open fire for a few minutes and then tapped (while still hot) with a wooden hammer. If the nut is broken in the tapping, its value decreases consider- ably. Once the shell is removed, the nut is placed in an oven for up to ten hours, after