Workers process cashew nuts for export. Cashew nut processing firms have embraced intensive processing to add value to their exports. (Photo: VNA) It produces a number of items such as roasted and salted cashewwith and without the skin, spicy cashew, cheese cashew, and sesame cashew.
The company said processed nuts only account for a small portionof its total cashew exports, and so it would focus on deep processing togradually increase the proportion of high-value processed products.
Hoang Son 1 JSC has sold large volumes of highly processed cashew nutsto the EU market.
Another firm that has also succeeded in exporting processed cashewnut products is Long An Food Processing Export JSC (Lafooco).
Its cashew nuts can be seen on shelves in supermarkets in China,Hong Kong, Canada, Japan, and Europe.
Besides exporting through traditional channels, Lafooco also sellsthe nuts abroad through e-commerce platform Amazon and has received positivefeedback from customers.
It has said it will continue to research and develop a variety ofcashew-based instant products, snacks and foods.
According to insiders, in recent years, local cashew processingfirms have invested in modern machinery and equipment for intensive processing.
Highly processed products offer high value and thus better profitmargins. They also open up opportunities for Vietnamese cashew businesses toexport under their own brands, thereby raising the country’s profile in theinternational market, they said.
Vietnam has been the world’s largest cashew exporter for years,but mainly of semi-processed items of low value, they added.
High competitive pressure
Vietnam’s cashew industry faces increasingly fierce competitionfrom other countries, including some emerging ones.
Ivory Coast, for instance, for long the world’s biggest supplierof raw cashew, has started processing the nuts for export.
Speaking at the 12th Vinacas Golden Cashew Rendezvous in Ho Chi MinhCity recently, Adama Coulibaly, General Director of Ivory Coast’s Cashew andCotton Council, said last year his country exported 36,807 tonnes of processedcashew nuts to markets such as the US, EU and Australia in addition toexporting 719,900 tonnes of raw nuts.
According to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas), though thisvolume is very low compared to Vietnam's 500,000 tonnes, it shows that IvoryCoast is eyeing higher market segments.
There is a possibility that hitherto raw cashew suppliers toVietnamese firms would become their competitors in the near future, it added.
Besides, cashew also has to compete with other nuts.
Vu Thai Son, Chairman and General Director of Long Son JSC, theoutput of nuts such as almond is skyrocketing and exceeds demand.
Ta Quang Huyen, Chairman of Hoang Son 1 JSC, said the price ofcashew nuts has decreased significantly in the world market compared to twoyears ago, but that of other nuts such as almond and walnut have fallen beloweven cashew.
So other nuts are preferred by international roasters andretailers and consumers over cashew nuts, he said.
Bob Baurer, President of the Association of Food Industries, atrade association with more than 1000 member companies involved inimports of food products into the US and Canada, said Vietnam isthe biggest exporter of cashew kernel to the US.
But with the US tending to apply stringent food safetyregulations, Vietnamese exporters need to improve food safety and quality.
Nguyen Minh Hoa, Vinacas’s Vice Chairman, said last year was achallenging one for the cashew industry, with exports falling from 2021, but2023 could be even worse due to low demand amid global inflation.
To cope, local cashew processors need to carefully study marketsand make appropriate plans for the import of raw nuts at competitive prices, hesaid.
They also need to further diversify their products and make themenvironment-friendly to meet the increasing requirements of consumers./.
VNA
