Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The EU-Vietnam FreeTrade Agreement (EVFTA), signed in Hanoi on June 30, is expected to help boost Vietnam’scashew nut exports.
According to the General Department ofVietnam Customs, the country exported 174,700 tonnes of cashew nuts worth some1.34 billion USD from the beginning of this year till mid-June, up 9.6 percentin volume but down 13.6 percent in value year on year.
Cashew nuts were sold for 7,689 USD pertonne, a drop of 21.3 percent against the same period last year.
Tran Trong Khoi, Deputy General Director ofHa My JSC in the southern province of Binh Phuoc, explained that Vietnam had toimport cashew nuts from Africa with lower quality for exports.
The Export-Import Department under theMinistry of Industry and Trade forecast that the global cashew nut price willrecover in the coming months thanks to increasing demand during Thanksgivingand Christmas holidays.
Khoi said the EVFTA will offer hugeopportunities to businesses, suggesting they should pay special attention toproduct quality as well as food safety and hygiene.
The Department of Industry and Trade of BinhPhuoc province – the country’s largest cashew producer and exporter – said theEU, especially Germany and the Netherlands, remain Vietnam’s most importantmarkets.
Binh Phuoc aims to encourage enterprises tooptimise opportunities generated by the EVFTA and study requirements ofimporters.
Local officials had a working session withrepresentatives of the Ivory Coast – the world’s leading cashew producer withtotal area amounting to 1.4 million hectares and average productivity reachingabout 5 tonnes per ha.
The country, which has only 8 percent ofcashew nuts undergoing intensive processing before being delivered abroad, wishesto work with Binh Phuoc firms in cashew nut processing.-VNA
VNA
