TheVietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) reported that roughly 306,000tonnes of cashew kernels were shipped abroad in 2014, generating morethan 2 billion USD and representing an annual increase of 17.4 percent.Annual revenue grew by 21.9 percent.
Including the export ofby-products such as shell oil and other value-added products, the totalindustry’s revenue reached 2.2 billion USD, Vinacas said, noting thatthe cashew export price averaged 6,553 USD per tonne in 2014, up nearly3.8 percent from the previous year.
Vietnamese cashew iscurrently exported to 50 countries; 30 percent of the total exports aredestined for the US, 25 percent heading to European markets, and 20percent to China.
Domestic enterprises also imported around700,000 tonnes of raw cashew to ensure material supply for processingand export, raising the total volume of processed cashew kernel lastyear to 1.2 million tonnes, the association said.
Such high figures marked the cashew as a staple agricultural export of Vietnam, following rice, rubber, and coffee.
However,Vinacas Chairman Nguyen Duc Thanh forecast an array of difficulties in2015, such as the depreciation of some foreign currencies which willlikely affect export, India and China’s new cashew processing industriesfor their cultivation areas in Africa, and stricter hygiene and qualityrequirements.
To further expand markets, Vinacas plans to stepup promotional activities in the US, help its member firms improve theirproduct quality and hygiene, and organise an international cashewconference this year.
It targets 350,000 tonnes of cashew kernel exports and 2.5 billion USD in revenue in 2015.-VNA