Cashews: Vietnam relies on high imports

February 14, 2023 at 4:52 PM , Der AUDITOR
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HANOI. According to recent data from Cambodia and Vietnam, more than 98% of Cambodia's RCN production is supplied to Vietnam. The country is the top processor, but produces only about 30% of the raw cashew nuts itself.

Cambodia wants to further increase production

The Cambodia Cashew Association announced that Cambodia's exports in 2022 totalled 670,000 mt of raw cashew nuts, valued at USD 1.07 billion, which would represent a 34.65% decline from the previous year. It is worth noting that 98.5% of the shipments went to Vietnam, i.e. 660,000 mt worth more than USD 1 billion. This is reported by the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas). And Cambodia is striving for further growth of the market. Last year, for example, a national guideline was issued to increase productivity as well as quality in order to improve international competitiveness, with the aim of increasing profits by up to 25% by 2027.

Imports are several million tonnes

According to Vinacas, Vietnam's cashew acreage currently covers about 300,000 ha, which means that only 30% of the raw nuts needed for processing are grown domestically. The processing sector continues to develop strongly and global demand is high due to the good quality, but the country is subsequently dependent on large imports. These amount to several million tonnes annually.

Issue is that cashew cultivation has become unattractive for many Vietnamese growers due to crop damage and a low profit margin, and they are increasingly switching to other crops. Therefore, Vinacas reports that it has now proposed to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to organise stable and long-term planning of cashew-growing areas. Local farmers are to be brought on board, and cooperation with Cambodia and southern Laos is being sought.

Prices on the European spot market have declined slightly in recent weeks and are at EUR 5.85/kg FCA Spain for cashew kernels, WW320 from Vietnam.

Cashew kernels

Type

EUR/kg

USD/kg

WW320, Vietnam, FCA Spain

5,85

6,29

WW240, Vietnam, FCA Spain

6,25

6,71

W320, FOB India

7,59

8,15

W240, FOB India

8,19

8,80

Trade sources

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