The Vietnamese cashew sector expects to pocket 1.8 billion USD from exporting 180,000 tonnes of nuts in 2014.

At a conference on the purchase and import activities of raw cashew held in Ho Chi Minh City on February 26, the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) predicted that with nut shell oil and other processed products included, the export revenue will be around 2.2 billion USD.

Vinacas set a target of buying 350,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts from domestic farmers while importing another 650,000 tonnes from West African, East African and Southeast Asian countries this year.

Association President Nguyen Duc Thanh said that Vietnam’s agricultural exports, including cashew nuts, continue facing barriers created by its major importers, such as the Food Safety Modernisation Act of the US Food and Drug Administration.

He suggested the State design policies to encourage businesses to invest more in cashew processing and produce auxiliary products, diversifying foodstuffs to serve both domestic and foreign markets.

In the first two months of 2014, Vietnam shipped abroad an estimated 28,000 tonnes of cashew nuts totaling 169 million USD, representing a year-on-year decrease of 0.1 percent in volume but a rise of 2.4 percent in value.

The US, China and Holland are Vietnam’s largest importers, consuming 26.17 percent, 20 percent and 9.84 percent of the country’s exports, respectively.-VNA