More than 250 cashew nut processors from 40 countries around the globe gathered at an international conference in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on May 16 to seek ways to develop the sector.

Participants said that the cashew nut industry will face a number of challenges in the future, largely due to increased and fierce competition.

If processors do not pay due attention to improving the qualitative competitiveness of their products and processing capacities, they will suffer from a lot of pressures, they said.

International Nut and Dried Fruit Council Foundation (INC) Vice President Pino Calcagni said Vietnam should further improve the quality of products as this will make Vietnam easier to enter demanding markets and thus get higher profits.

According to Pham Van Cong, CEO of the Nhat Huy Joint Stock Company, if Vietnam continues to export unprocessed raw cashew nuts, the sector will stay on the same dead end path as other agricultural sectors because they have not adequately prepared materials for export.

The sector needs assistance from relevant agencies to build a sustainable development strategy for the future, he added.

To promote and expand export markets, the Vietnam Cashew Nut Association has organiaed a series of meetings and dialogues providing domestic and foreign processors with opportunities to expand cooperation.

Last year, Vietnam exported more than 261,000 tonnes of cashew nut, earning 1.65 billion USD, up nearly 18 percent in volume and 12 percent in value. This was the eighth consecutive year Vietnam had surpassed India to become the world’s largest cashew nut exporter.

Its major markets remained the US , China , and the Netherlands.

This year, the sector aims to fetch around 2 billion USD from exports.-VNA