Cashew exports accelerate

Good growth in many markets

According to Vinacas, Vietnamese businesses exported 30,000 tonnes of cashews for US$218 million in September increasing the total to 245,000,000 tonnes and US$1.78 billion in the first nine months of this year, a 7.8 percent increase in volume and a 20.6 percent increase in value from a year ago.

Vinacas Chairman Nguyen Duc Thanh said that cashews are among the few agricultural items that had grown rapidly in terms of export revenue.

Vietnamese cashew nuts are currently available in more than 70 countries and territories, with the US accounting for 30 percent, Europe 25 percent and China 15 percent of sales. Nguyen Duc Thanh also said that cashew exports to the US continued to lead in August growing by more than 10 percent.

Vinacas added that cashew exports would exceed 300,000 tonnes worth US$2.25 billion this year. This momentum would help businesses expand their export markets.

OLAM Vietnam’s Quy Nhon Branch Production Director Le Van Tai said that Vietnamese businesses are highly competitive globally and that Vietnam’s export markets are prospering.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, cashew exports to all markets had increased by the end of July. Specifically, cashew exports to the Netherlands reached US$167.2 million, a US$46 million increase, the UK US$56.6 million, a roughly US$15 million increase, and Canada US$51.1 million, a US$8 million increase. In particular, several markets had grown by almost double such as Germany reaching 5,496 tonnes and almost US$40.53 million in the first seven months of this year, an increase of almost double in volume and value against a year ago.

Establishing a cashew assistance fund

Although Vietnamese cashew exports have led the global market in the last nine years, problems exist such as insufficient materials, too many export businesses, unfair competition and the unstable quality.

For this reason, Vinacas proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development establish a cashew production and export connection assistance fund which received a warm response. Vinacas is learning experience in the rice and coffee industries in order to complete fund establishment procedures.

According to Nguyen Duc Thanh, the fund will collect about US$600,000 annually primarily from state assistance and revenue from cashew export processing businesses (US$1 per tonne of export cashew). Seventy percent of the fund would be earmarked for intensive cashew farming and re-farming, research, and cashew farmer assistance, with the remaining 30 percent to go to improving technology and establishing cashew processing facilities.

Anh Viet