Tran Cong Khanh, Director of the Centre for Cashew Research and Development under the Southern Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, said that Vietnam’s cashew industry is facing the risk of natural disaster and climate change, and fierce competition from Cambodia, West African and East African countries which have a large land fund for growing cashew.
Binh Phuoc province is considered Vietnam's cashew "capital" as the province boasts an area under the tree and production accounting for more than half of the country’s total.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Tran Tuyet Minh said that Binh Phuoc has more than 152,000 ha of cashews, with an output of 170,000 tonnes/year.
Currently, there are 1,416 cashew processing facilities in the province.
Cashew exports remain a silver lining
Amid global demand slump, cashew remains a silver lining of the overall cloud of export, according to experts.
The Vietnam Cashew Association said from the remaining months of 2023 until the first quarter of 2024, the industry will continue to face many hurdles. Amidst global economic downturn, cashew will not an essential commodity and, as a result, consumer demand will continue to decline.
However, in the optimistic scenario, the cashew industry will grow as the inventory level in major consuming markets will decrease, pushing the demand at the end of the year.
The association has adjusted the target of cashew nut export turnover in 2023 to 3.05 billion USD, a decrease of 50 million USD compared to the previously set plan.
It has recommended ministries, branches and localities to create the most favourable conditions for cashew businesses, especially in terms of bank credit, tax and customs policies.
In the first six months of 2023, the industry exported over 279,000 tonnes of cashew nuts of all kinds with a turnover of about 1.6 billion USD, up 9.5% in volume and over 7.6% in value.
VINACAS cuts cashew export target by US$50 million
The Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS) has adjusted down its 2023 cashew export target by US$50 million to US$3.05 billion.
During a conference on the cashew market development held on July 26 in HCMC, VINACAS expressed concerns about potential woes, particularly in the final quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.
“The industry’s growth could be at risk if the global economic downturn continues, leading to reduced consumer demand for non-essential commodities like cashews,” it said.
Despite these difficulties, cashews remain a critical agricultural export earner for Vietnam, displaying positive growth and securing a significant position in the agricultural export landscape.
VINACAS presented an optimistic scenario, highlighting growth potential due to increased cashew consumption and depleted inventory in major consumer markets like the U.S. and Europe, which can drive up demand towards the end of the year.
Ministry steps in regarding suspected scam in exporting cashew kernels to Dubai
In order to avoid unfortunate losses, MoIT recommends that Vietnamese enterprises, when dealing with foreign enterprises, must be cautious and carefully negotiate payment terms to ensure safety.
Following the release of a notice by the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) warning cashew businesses about potential fraud concerning the export of cashew kernels to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade's (MoIT) Asia-Africa Market Department has confirmed swift action.
The ministry confirmed that as soon as they received the formal letter from the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA) and the report from the Vietnam Trade Office in UAE on July 21, they forwarded it to the Embassy of the UAE in Hanoi. Their request was for the embassy to alert the appropriate authorities to investigate and take appropriate action in relation to the potential fraud case.
The report from the Vietnam Trade Office in UAE also states that the trade office had received written reports from a number of Vietnamese businesses with the same content, accusing an importer in the UAE and a collection bank in Dubai, tricking them into signing contracts to buy cinnamon, pepper and cashew.
Immediately after receiving the written reports from businesses, the Trade Office sent a note to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dubai Police, Central Bank of the UAE and a number of related banks and shipping lines.
In addition, the trade office has worked with a number of units such as relevant bank branches in Dubai; Dubai police and filed a report on the incident; shipping lines and authorities of the Jebel Ali port.According to the Asia-Africa Market Department, fraud in the Middle East market has appeared more than before, mainly concentrated in small-scale trading companies.
Compiled by T.Huong
Source: Vitic