Cambodia exported 667,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts to Việt Nam in the first five months of this year, an increase of 37 per cent over the same period last year.
Last year was a challenging one for the cashew industry, with exports falling from the previous year, but 2023 might be even worse, according to the Viet Nam Cashew Association (VINACAS).
Viet Nam imported nearly 1.2 million tonnes of raw cashew nuts worth US$1.9 billion in the first four months of this year, increases of 300 per cent and 323.5 per cent year-on-year, respectively.
Despite the difficulties posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Viet Nam’s cashew exports in the first half of the year increased by 16 per cent in volume year-on-year and 1 per cent in value to 232,000 tonnes and nearly US$1.53 billion.
The Viet Nam Cashew Association wants the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to draft national technical regulations for raw cashew nuts so that processors can ensure the quality of imported raw material.
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.
Viet Nam will need to import more than 300,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts in the remaining months of the year for processing to meet the demand of exporters, according to processing companies.
Vietnamese importers have temporarily stopped buying raw cashew from Africa due to a surge in prices, according to the Viet Nam Cashew Association (Vinacas).