Vietnam cashew exporters to add value with further processing Vietnam aims to increase export value of cashew nuts by more extensive processing instead of exporting raw or preliminarily processed products.    Vietnam has been the world’s top cashew nut exporter in the last 10 consecutive years with the export volume, accounting for 50 percent of the world’s total output. In the first 10 months of 2016, it exported 291,000 tons of cashew nuts, reaping $2.33 billion. It is expected that Vietnam’s total processed output in 2016 would reach 1.4 tons, of which 300,000 tons would be exported to earn $3 billion in turnover. If so, the export turnover from cashew nut would be higher than the rice export turnover. Six cashew growing areas in Vietnam have soil and climate suitable to cashew plants. Around 300,000 households growing cashew on 310,000 hectares consider cashew as a wild plant. They do not use chemical fertilizer and plant protection chemicals, so Vietnam’s cashew nuts are clean and have high quality. Besides the cashew variety that has existed in Vietnam fir years, three new varieties bring high yield of up to 2,500-4,000 kilos per hectares in good cultivation conditions. Vietnam can now make nearly all the machines needed to increase the automation level. It only has to import color sorter machines. The machinery and tools made by Vietnam are used by over 1,000 cashew nut processing factories and workshops in Vietnam, all of which are privately run, and also for export to Africa. Vietnam aims to increase export value of cashew nuts by more extensive processing instead of exporting raw or preliminarily processed products. Vietnam’s cashew nut products always have the appearance and quality meeting requirements set by the choosiest markets such as the US, France, Germany and Japan. About 80 countries now import preliminarily processed cashew nuts from Vietnam. These include the US which consumes 30 percent, Europe 25 percent and China 18 percent. Considering the output of all cashew exporters and the high demand which exceeds supply, Vinacas believes the cashew nut price will fall to below $10 per kilo. Therefore, it believes that expanding the growing area, increasing output, and upgrading quality and processing products more deeply are what Vietnam needs to do. Though cashew is one of the perennial crops that bring high value, Vietnam still doesn’t have cashew farms. Cashew plants are mostly grown by households, with several hectares for every household. As the cashew nut price fell in previous years, farmers chopped down cashew trees to grow rubber and coffee. As a result, farmers now do not have enough cashew nuts to sell when the prices go up. Nam Lich, VNN