2016 marks the 11th consecutive year Vietnam has led the world in exportingcashew nuts, accounting for 28 percent and 42 percent of the total volumes of semi-processedand processed cashew nuts, respectively, traded in the global market in theyear.
However, the biggestchallenge facing Vietnamese cashew processors is their dependence on importedraw cashews.
Cashew enterprises imported1.06 million tonnes of raw cashews in 2016, the largest ever volume, up 14percent against the previous year.
The International Nut and Dried Fruit Council forecastedthat global demand for nuts ingeneral and cashew nuts in particular will continue to stably increase with annualaverage growth of 10 percent as it is has been proven that the nuts are goodfor health.
The Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) predicted that 2017 will be a favourableyear for the cashew sector. However, it also mentioned difficulties that the industryis likely to face such as unfavourable weather.
Vietnam is set to export 360,000 tonnes of cashew nuts to foreign markets witha turnover of 3 billion USD in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 3.4 percent involume and 5.6 percent in value.
At present, the US, the Netherlands and China are the largest importers of Vietnamesecashew products.
However, many businessesare concerned that the purchase power for cashew nut in the US will decreasedue to a price hike expected in February this year.
Meanwhile, the cashewsector will face growing competition from Chinese businesses. Vinacas SecretaryGeneral Nguyen Hoang Giang said Chinese firms have built a number of cashewprocessing factories in areas bordering Vietnam.
According to Vinacas vicechairman Ta Quang Huyen, cashew nut prices reached their peak at the end of2016 and are expected to stop or decline in 2017.-VNA