A kilogramme of raw cashew nuts can now be sold for 32,000 VND (1.4 USD), and a kilogramme of dried cashew nuts fetches 40,000 VND, the highest prices recorded in the past 10 years. Cashew exporters are also buying cashew nuts from local farmers at higher prices, Mr.Nguyen Duc Thanh, Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas), said.
According to Mr.Nguyen Duc Thanh, the increasing of global prices has boost the price of exported cashew prices and foreign markets favoure Vietnamese cashews due to its good quality.
Since early March, growers in key cashew cultivation areas in the Southern and Central Highlands provinces of Vietnam have started to collect their cashew nuts as it is now entering peak harvest season.
The rise of prices is a good news for cashew growers. For example, Mr. Tran Van Thi, a cashew grower in the Central Highlands of Dak Nong province, said that With higher prices, a cashew growing household can now earn 90 million VND to 100 million per hectare of cashews, and after deducting all kinds of expenses and costs, they can gain from 70 million VND to 85 million VND in profit. A kilogramme of cashew nuts previously sold for between 18,000 VND and 20,000, but now the prices have increased by 10,000 VND per kilogramme, Mr.Tran Van Thi added.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue, who owns two hectares of cashew plantation in the southern Binh Phuoc province, expects to earn a profit of 100 million VND after selling all this year’s cashew crop thanks to the increase of prices.
According to statistics from Vinacas, Vietnam exported 37,000 tonnes of cashews with a total revenue of 280 million USD in the first two months of this year, an increase of 11 percent compared with the same period last year.
Short domestic supply
All though cashew prices are increasing, the Vietnamese cashew industry is still facing a shortage of cashews for export. Last year, unusually bad weather lowed productivity of cashew crops which led many farmers narrowed their cashews cultivation area or even replace cashew plantations with coffee, rubber or fruit trees. Therefore, the cashew industry cannot fully meet the export demands of this year.
However, Mr. Nguyen Duc Thanh said that cashew prices have depended on the local traders for many years because cashew growers do not directly sell nuts to export enterprises, but have to sell them through several traders. Hence, traders earn significantly profits instead of farmers.
In addition, Vietnamese farmers lack advanced post – harvested technology so they cannot store cashews for long periods. Farmers will often sell the raw nuts right from their gardens, and can easily suffer losses.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Thanh suggested that the Vietnamese cashew industry should have a development strategy including closer links between farmers, traders and exporters to protect the rights of cashew growers. The government should formulate policies to encourage and support farmers, he said.
At present, Vinacas is cooperating with relevant agencies to develop a model linking production, processing and consumption, gradually connecting cashew growers with exporters, and helping farmers to increase their profits.
