Vietnam tops world's cashew nut exports for 12 consecutive years

The country’s cashew export turnover this year will account for more than 50 percent of the world’s total market share value of roughly US$5.5 billion, the association estimated.
Vietnam’s cashew nut exports are forecast to surpass the $3 billion benchmark for the first time in 2017 thanks to increasing shipments in the first ten months of the year.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, cashew nuts raked in $2.87 billion from 289,000 tons, down 0.4 per cent in volume but up 23.1 per cent in value.
With this growth, the country’s export revenue of cashew nuts is likely to hit some $3.4-3.5 billion in 2017.

Vietnamese cashew products are consumed in more than 100 markets world-wide.

The result is spurred by a surge in both prices and demands. Vietnam experienced a poor cashew crop during 2016-17 with productivity of 250,000 tons, thus cashew nuts has been sold at higher prices, average $9,909 per tons in nine-month period ending in September, an increase of 25.1 per cent year on year.
Nguyen Duc Thanh, Vinacas Chairman, said that export prices of cashew nuts in the nine months reached a record high, resulting in significant growth in export revenue from key markets like the US (34.7 per cent), the Netherlands (45.2 per cent), China (9.1 per cent) and the UK (4.6 per cent).
Notably, Vietnamese cashew nuts have captured a lion’s share of the US market with 73.7 per cent and the Netherlands with 65.2 per cent, he noted.
Vietnamese cashew products are consumed in more than 100 markets world-wide.
Despite a considerable increase in cashew nut prices, demands for the product are growing. The International Nut and Dried Fruit Council (INC) said that global cashew nut demands rose 6.1 percent per year while cashew productivity only picked up 3.5 per cent per year.
Thanh said that it is crucial to develop a national brand for Vietnamese cashew nuts, given that although Vietnamese cashew exports occupied half of the world’s volume and value, foreign consumers believed that all cashew products are originated from India.
Besides, Thanh said, most markets which import processed cashew products from Vietnam set high requirements on quality and food hygiene. This means that Vietnamese processors need to be sure that the input materials have high quality. Therefore, Vinacas believes that Vietnam needs to expand the cashew growing area.
Echoing Thanh, Do Ha Nam, chair of Intimex Group, also believed that said now is the right time for farmers to expand the cashew growing area again as raw cashew nuts now can go for good prices.
By the end of 2016, Vietnam had 300,000 hectares of cashew growing area, mostly in Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Ba Ria – Vung Tau. The raw material price increased from 10,000-12,000 per kilo some years ago to VND40,000 per kilo.