Vinacas develops 1-million-tonne cashew material region in Cambodia

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese cashew sector is working with Cambodia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Cambodian firms to develop a 1-million-tonne cashew material region in Cambodia.

According to President of the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) Nguyen Duc Thanh, the association will help Cambodia cultivate 500,000 hectares of cashew, with all the output set to be bought by Vietnamese enterprises.

Before 2014, Cambodia sold only 30 percent of its cashew nuts to Vietnam. But in the last two years, Vietnam has become the largest consumer of Cambodia’s cashew by buying more than 90 percent of exports, making Cambodia Vietnam’s fifth largest raw cashew supplier.

Cambodia’s plan to expand cashew farms aims to improve locals’ income.

Hean Vann Horn, head of the agriculture general department and an envoy of the Cambodian Government, said that in the last few years, due to price volatility and poor management, cashew farming area in Cambodia plummeted from 300,000ha to 100,000ha.

He asked for Vinacas’s help to supply good seeds and technical training to ensure good quality and yields.

Initially, Vinacas has provided 1.5 billion VND (66,000 USD) to the Cambodian side to grow one million cashew trees in 2018-2022.

Currently, local raw material supply only meets 20 -35 percent of Vietnam’s demand.

The country has imported 1.2 million tonnes of raw cashew so far this year, mostly from Africa.-VNA