Bad weather, pests and an earlier season than usual have all affected the quality of cashew nuts this year. — Photo:thanhnien.vn

The price of raw cashews in Binh Phuoc Province has fallen from VND29,000 (US$1.27) per kilo to VND12,000-14,000 per kilo, mostly due to poor quality, according to Tran Thi Yen, director of Bu Gia Map agricultural cooperative.

Because of bad weather and pests, the average yield this year fell to 600-700kg per ha, compared to average yields of cashew of 1.5 to 2 tonnes per ha several years ago.

To stop the drop in productivity, farmers had to apply more fertiliser, but the results were ineffective.

The cashew season usually lasts until the end of the fourth lunar month, but this year it ended earlier, in the third month, affecting quality, according to Yen.

The province has a total of 135,000ha of cashew, with most fields nearing the end of the season.

Le Nhat Khoa, deputy director of Phuc An company, said the quality of Vietnamese cashew nuts had declined and many businesses had to import a large amount of raw cashews to process for exports.

The imports of cashews, mostly from India and China, pushed the price up to $2,200 per tonne, an increase of $200 compared to last year.

The price of domestic cashew nuts fell, but the price increase of imported cashew put pressure on businesses. — VNS