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Cashew nut exports to rise
Vietnam, the world’s biggest cashew nut exporter, has set a goal for the cashew industry to generate US$680-700 million in export revenue this year.
Vietnam Cashew Association General Secretary Nguyen Van Lang told Thanh Nien Daily Vietnam was closely watching market changes, increasing production, improving product quality and expanding its markets.
“Export prices of Vietnamese cashew nuts are now some 40 percent higher than previous years due to the world’s thinner nut supply,” Lang said in a telephone interview.
A ton of cashew nuts is currently priced at $6,500, compared with some $4,000 last year.
The association has urged local firms to closely monitor international market changes in terms of prices, demand and supply to make appropriate export decisions.
According to some local experts, cashew nut prices in the world market would remain unchanged in the next two weeks and then increase when the two biggest cashew exporters, Vietnam and India, adjust their prices to reflect a 30 percent surge in input costs this year.
Vietnam planned to increase its cashew acreage to 500,000 hectares with anticipated annual output of 500,000 tons of nuts in 2010 from 400,000 hectares and 350,000 tons of nuts currently, Lang said.
Most of Vietnam’s cashews are grown in the southern provinces of Binh Thuan, Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai and the Central Highlands region.
The association called on local firms to invest in processing plants and also called on cashew growers in Cambodia, Indonesia and Africa to do a better job of ensuring “stable raw cashew sources.”
Vietnam imports more than 150,000 tons of raw cashews, mainly from Africa, for processing and re-export each year.
Thanhnien
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