Viet Nam’s industry-real estate-finance conglomerate T&T Group and the Ivory Coast’s Cotton and Cashew Council (CCA) last week signed a strategic co-operation agreement to import raw cashew nuts.

The agreement was signed during a visit by T&T Group to the Ivory Coast from December 7-21.

T&T Group plans to build a cashew processing factory in the Ivory Coast with a processing capacity of up to 50,000 tonnes per year.

The CCA is committed to ensuring the availability of raw materials to meet T&T Group’s needs in line with market conditions and to monitor the implementation of commitments between T&T Group and its domestic partners.

The CCA will assist T&T Group in selecting the location of the plant to ensure convenient access to raw materials, logistics and a labour source for the factory.

The Ivory Coast ranks second in terms of raw cashew production worldwide.

In August, T&T Group also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Guinea Bissau to import raw cashew nuts with an annual volume of 150,000-200,000 tonnes per year.

During the business trip, T&T Group also visited Guinea Bissau to work with local authorities and enterprises in order to implement the MoU.

T&T Group’s vice general director Nguyen Thi Thanh Binh and Guinea Bissau’s Minister of Trade, Tourism and Handicrafts also signed a 2019 action plan.

Founded in 1993, T&T Group JSC operates in the real estate, finance, industry, sports and import-export segments. Its real estate projects include residential units, trade centres, office buildings, resorts, marine eco-tourism areas, urban areas and industrial zones. The company currently has total assets of over VND35 trillion (US$1.5 billion) and charter capital of VND15 trillion. — VNS