Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has maintained its position as the world’s largest producer and exporter of cashew nuts in2020, exporting an estimated 450,000 tonnes of cashew kernelsworth 3.2 billion USD, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas).

The information was revealed by the association at a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on November 23 to mark its 30th foundinganniversary.

This year, Vietnam also remains the world’s biggestimporter of raw cashew nuts, purchasing about 1.3 million tonnes from overseas.

Data by Vinacas shows that Vietnam began to ship cashewkernels abroad in 1990 after the association was founded. The country exported286 tonnes of cashew kernels for 1.4 million USD that year. In 2004, the volumeincreased to 105,000 tonnes, worth approximately 436 million USD.

In 2006, Vietnam surpassed India for the first time asthe world’s top exporter of cashew kernels, with an export volume of 127,000tonnes worth 504 million USD.

Since 2017, Vietnam has retained its position as the world’s biggest hub for cashew processing and the largest exporter and importer of theproduct, accounting for over 50 percent of the global processed cashew nuts.

The industry has been hit by COVID-19 since the beginningof this year. Though cashew kernel exports reachedmore than 422,000 tonnes in the first 10 months of 2020, a year-on-yearincrease of 12 percent, the 10-month revenue dropped 3 percent to over 2.6billion USD.

Although holding the title of “the world’s No 1 exporter”, Vietnam has still mainly exported semi-processed cashew nuts, which are sold at an averageprice of 10 USD per kilogramme, while finished products sold at supermarketsglobally cost about 30 USD per kilogramme.

Vinacas Vice Chairman Nguyen Minh Hoa said the sector hasbeen under enormous pressure from new policies of major suppliers and importers.African countries, which have been key suppliers of raw cashew nuts to Vietnamfor years, are boosting the development of their domestic cashew processingindustry, he said.

India, one of the world’s largest cashew nut consumptionmarkets, is applying a tax policy to limit the amount of imported cashew nuts,mainly from Vietnam, he continued, adding that other key buyers such as the US and EU are also setting out additional foodsafety standards on cashew kernels from Vietnam.

Vinacas Chairman Pham Van Cong said these provide Vietnam with not only challenges but also opportunitieswhich would encourage domestic manufacturers to restructure, upgrade technologyand improve management capacity to climb up the global supply chain of cashew nuts.

It is important to develop a proper strategy for thecashew sector that facilitates shift from preliminary processing to productionof final products sold in supermarkets, he said.

Cong further noted that Vinacas is formulating a strategy forthe development of Vietnam’s cashew industry in the new context, to be proposedto the government in the near future./.