Cashew export values rise 25 per cent in first eight months

September 07, 2011 | 10:41

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Vietnam has exported more than 107,500 tonnes of cashew nut for $857.17 million in the year-to-date period, the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) reported.

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It represents a decline of 13 per cent in volume but an increase of more than 25 per cent in value year-on-year, it said.

The main importers were the US, China, the Netherlands, Australia, and the UK.

Despite the economic situation, demand for nuts, including cashew, in main import markets remained high, Vinacas chairman Nguyen Thai Hoc told a meeting with the 20 largest cashew exporters (G20-VCS) in the association last week.

In the first half, enterprises had imported 120,730 tonnes of raw cashew from Nigeria, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Indonesia, and Cambodia, Vinacas said.

But imports would cease in the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year due to high prices and low quality, it said.

This meant that while there was enough raw cashew for processing for export this year, there would be a shortage of around 200,000 tonnes in the first quarter of next year, it said.

Vinacas and G20-VCS called on businesses not to buy and sell low quality nuts because it would affect the prestige of the country's cashew brand.

The latter agreed to establish the Vietnam Cashew Nut Corporation with a charter capital of VND100 billion ($4.78 million), and invited the Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank to become a partner.

The military-owned bank agreed to earmark VND2 trillion (nearly $96 million) for lending to G20-VCS for buying 30,000 tonnes of raw cashew.