Cambodia’s processed cashews will hit the world market after two processing plants are built in Kampong Thom and Kampong Cham provinces under joint ventures with Vietnam.

Construction of the plants with a combined capacity of 10,000 tonnes a year is scheduled to start in early 2010.

Cambodian State Secretary at the Commerce Ministry Mao Thora related that authorities from the two provinces were in discussions with their Vietnamese partners from the southern provinces of Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai. The State Secretary added that an agreement has been struck and a memorandum of understanding will be signed to secure a license from the Cambodian government.

According to the Vietnamese Trade Office in Cambodia , the two plants will not only buy local raw cashews for processing, but also for export to Vietnam . Of the total estimated volume they plan to purchase--60,000 tonnes a year--50,000 tonnes are to be shipped to Vietnam .

According to the Cambodian Economics Institute, the country’s cashew output is between 30,000-50,000 tonnes a year. However, only 5 percent of that is processed in the country and the remainder is exported to Vietnam .

Cambodia now has about 80,000 ha of cashew growing area./.