Cashew exporters are facing a shortage of capital and struggling toimport enough raw materials to meet the industry's annual export targetof 1.4–1.5 billion USD, said industry insiders.
ViceChairman of the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) Nguyen Duc Thanhsaid exporters need roughly 400 million USD to import 400,000 tonnes ofraw cashew.
However exporters are facing major difficulties because of world price hikes and high interest rates.
"The industry is confronting some unusual developments this yearincluding a drying up of credit, high interest rates, and toughrequirements for getting bank loans," said Thanh.
A tonneof raw cashew currently sets businesses back 1,400 USD, up 60-70 percentagainst last year, said Thanh, adding it is hard for cashew exportersto access bank loans because of interest rates that hovered around 21-25percent per year.
Deputy Director of the Department ofAgriculture, Forestry and Fishery Products Processing and Salt IndustryDoan Xuan Hoa also admitted the cashew industry is facing tough times.
He called on Vinacas to monitor raw cashew and export prices andoversee the quality of cashew nuts, but added that there is a need tocontrol export prices since incorrect forecasts could lead to needlessstockpiling of cashew.
This will result in heavy losses, Hoa said.
Vinacas recently asked the Ministry of Finance to cut the cashew importtax from the current 5 percent to zero, saying that tax adjustment isneeded to solve difficulties faced by domestic businesses.
Every year, the cashew businesses need about 700,000 tonnes of rawcashew for processing and export. However, domestic output meets lessthan half of this demand. Domestic cashew exporters therefore import rawcashew – mainly from Africa, Indonesia and Cambodia .
To minimise this dependence on imports, Vinacas has developed a plan toestablish a 200,000ha cultivation area dedicated for cashews insouthern Binh Phuoc province. If approved by the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development, this will lift the country's total cashewcultivation area to roughly 500,000ha./.
ViceChairman of the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) Nguyen Duc Thanhsaid exporters need roughly 400 million USD to import 400,000 tonnes ofraw cashew.
However exporters are facing major difficulties because of world price hikes and high interest rates.
"The industry is confronting some unusual developments this yearincluding a drying up of credit, high interest rates, and toughrequirements for getting bank loans," said Thanh.
A tonneof raw cashew currently sets businesses back 1,400 USD, up 60-70 percentagainst last year, said Thanh, adding it is hard for cashew exportersto access bank loans because of interest rates that hovered around 21-25percent per year.
Deputy Director of the Department ofAgriculture, Forestry and Fishery Products Processing and Salt IndustryDoan Xuan Hoa also admitted the cashew industry is facing tough times.
He called on Vinacas to monitor raw cashew and export prices andoversee the quality of cashew nuts, but added that there is a need tocontrol export prices since incorrect forecasts could lead to needlessstockpiling of cashew.
This will result in heavy losses, Hoa said.
Vinacas recently asked the Ministry of Finance to cut the cashew importtax from the current 5 percent to zero, saying that tax adjustment isneeded to solve difficulties faced by domestic businesses.
Every year, the cashew businesses need about 700,000 tonnes of rawcashew for processing and export. However, domestic output meets lessthan half of this demand. Domestic cashew exporters therefore import rawcashew – mainly from Africa, Indonesia and Cambodia .
To minimise this dependence on imports, Vinacas has developed a plan toestablish a 200,000ha cultivation area dedicated for cashews insouthern Binh Phuoc province. If approved by the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development, this will lift the country's total cashewcultivation area to roughly 500,000ha./.
