Assoc targets cashew exports of US$3.3 billion

Visitors look at a cashew processing line at a show organized by Vinacas - PHOTO: NGOC HUNG

CAN THO – The Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) has set an export target of US$3.3 billion this year for the cashew industry, a 10% year-on-year increase.

The cashew industry is expected to ship 360,000 tons of cashew nuts, up 2.8% against 2016, with export turnover of US$3 billion from cashew nuts, up 5%, while other by-products are expected to fetch export earnings of US$300 million.

A report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shows that 28,000 tons of cashew nuts were shipped abroad in May with a total value of US$275 million, taking the total in the first five months of the year to 112,000 tons worth US$1.1 billion, down 9.5% in volume but up 12.8% in value.

The average export price of the commodity in January-April rose by 24% to about US$9,400 a ton. The U.S., the Netherlands and China were Vietnam’s largest cashew buyers, accounting for 35.3%, 14.8% and 13.5% of the total respectively.

If the target in 2017 is achieved, Vietnam will remain the largest cashew nut exporter in the world for 12 consecutive years. In 2016, Vietnam held a market share of above 50% of the world’s cashew market.

Michael Waring, vice chairman of the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council (INC), in a recent meeting with Vinacas Chairman Nguyen Duc Thanh has committed to support Vinacas in cashew promotions, and hold an annual cashew conference in Vietnam. INC also pledged to help Vietnam expand the cashew market, increase competitiveness and domestic consumption and implement cleaner production and sustainable development programs.

Despite robust cashew export growth and price rises, local farmers are still complaining about the depressed price.

Cashew farmers in Binh Phuoc Province, for example, said that a kilo of fresh cashew is sold at VND25,000-26,000, or US$1.1 a kilo, far lower than VND44,000-45,000 three months ago. Meanwhile, a kilo of dried cashew is priced at VND47,000-49,000 compared to VND55,000-56,000 in the early crop. However, the price is still VND2,000-5,000 higher than in the same period last year.

In related news, Vinacas is asking for support from relevant ministries and agencies to speed up imports of 100,000 tons of raw cashew to meet the demand of domestic processors.

The cashew shipments are en route from Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania and Mozambique to Vietnam, but the transport is time consuming due to slow customs procedures at the ports of departure, transit points and destination.

Vinacas said it took 60-70 days to deliver a shipment from Africa to Vietnam, two times longer than previous shipments. This has led to a shortage of raw materials for export processing, resulting in late deliveries to customers, while domestic processors cannot cash in on the high export price at the moment.

Therefore, Vinacas has sent an official document to the Ministries of Transport, Industry-Trade, and Agriculture-Rural Development to call for help.

Vinacas said that shipments sometimes transit in Malaysia and Singapore for up to 30 days, and upon arrival in Vietnam, the raw cashew shipments also get stuck at Cat Lai Port in HCMC for a long time due to overload at the port and slow customs clearance.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam spent US$1.6 billion importing one million tons of raw cashew nuts in 2016, with Africa being the leading supplier.

In the first five months of the year, raw cashew imports hit a record of about 366,000 tons worth US$721 million, up 49% in volume and 94% in value respectively.