A technical support centre for the cashew industry will be set up to help farmers acquaint themselves with new technologies applicable to the growing and processing of cashews, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association.
"The centre will be a non-profit body. It will cost an estimated 150-200 million VND (7,000-10,000 USD) to run the centre which will be provided by the association," said general secretary of the association Dang Hoang Giang.
Giang added that one of the main aims of the centre would be educating farmers on new planting and harvesting techniques.
The centre would co-operate with the Vietnam Superintendence and Inspection Joint Stock Company and the Vietnam Superintendence and Inspection of Coffee and Products for Export and Import Joint Stock Company as well as provinces to help the industry reach a world standard.
"Reducing losses from inefficient harvesting will be one of the most important functions of the centre. It will also help farmers reach recognised food safety standards," said Giang.
He explained that farmers lost a total of nearly 4,000 tonnes of raw cashews during harvest time but they were unaware of the problem.
A report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that Vietnam exported around 160,000 tonnes of cashew nuts worth 888 million USD in the first 10 months of this year. The figures amount to a year-on-year increase of 9.2 percent in volume and nearly 30 percent in value.
The increase is attributed to the high price which is now about 5,500 USD per tonne, 900 USD more than last year.
"With October's figures, it is likely the industry will be able to reach the goal of 1 billion USD for the year and continue to be the world's leading cashew nut exporter," said Giang.
The association estimated the total raw cashew yield for the year would be about 300,000 tonnes, 50,000 tonnes less than last year's crop due to bad weather.
The Vietnamese cashew processing industry accounts for about 700,000-800,000 tonnes per year, so it is necessary to import raw cashews to make up the shortfall.
Since the beginning of this year, the country has imported 250,000 tonnes of raw cashews, mostly from African countries and Indonesia./.
