Cashew association expands reach to Africa Illustrative image (Source: VNA) The Vietnam Cashew Association inked three memoranda of understanding with its African partners at a conference for international customers in the cashew sector in Ho Chi Minh City on November 28.  The partners include the Association of Cashew Exporters in Ivory Coast, the National Cashew Association of Nigeria and the National Council of Benin Cashew Exporters. Another eight agreements were also reached by cashew exporters and importers at the event. According to President of the Vietnam Cashew Association Nguyen Duc Thanh, Vietnam has processed about one million tonnes of raw cashew nuts annually for the past two years. However, the country was able to manage about 600,000 tonnes of materials, leaving the remaining for imports from Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and Western African countries, he said. African delegates told the conference that many big cashew exporters such as Ivory Coast , Guinea Bissau and Nigeria hope to see Vietnamese businesses’ investment in cashew nut processing technologies in their countries. They cited the Nigerian Government’s preferential policies towards foreign investors in processing cashew nuts and shells, offering an exemption of corporate income tax in the first five years and lowering taxes on machinery and equipment imports to zero percent. The Ivory Coast side expressed their hope for cooperation with Vietnamese businesses, saying they are willing to offer tax and price incentives for investors in processing technologies. Recently, many Vietnamese businesses have turned their eyes towards the export of cashew nut processing technologies to Africa through the assistance and transfer of machinery and technologies.  Vietnam’s cashew sector is expected to export 250,000 tonnes of cashew nuts this year, grossing around 1.55 billion USD.-VNA