Vietnam’s cashew industry has faced a pressing challenge despite an export revenue of over 5 billion USD for the first time in 2025, as this impressive figure has yet to translate into commensurate economic efficiency for exporting enterprises, especially when the industry seeks to ensure that its position as the world’s leading cashew exporter is matched by sustainable profitability.
Cashew nuts are one of the exports which have created a large market for Vietnam, however, the industry faces the risk of trade deficit due to higher raw material prices.
The Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) has advised firms to pay attention to ensuring quality and food safety to avoid unnecessary export-related risks given growing overseas shipments of cashew nuts, which are forecast to soar in the final months of the year.
The three-day 12th Vinacas Golden Cashew Rendezvous saw its main event kick off in Ho Chi Minh City on February 27, attracting the participation of 350 delegates from more than 40 countries and territories worldwide.
Vietnam should fully tap benefits from tariff reduction and exemption brought by the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to promote cashew nut export to France, said insiders.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang has spoken about actions taken by the Government to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese enterprises in the suspected cashew nut export scam involving 100 containers of Vietnamese cashew nuts exported to Italy.
Vietnamese exporters are at risk of losing hundreds of millions of USD in a suspected scam in which they have not received any payment as agreed for 100 containers of cashew nuts already dispatched to a buyer in Italy.
The target of 3.8 billion USD in export revenue of cashew nuts for this year set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is quite feasible given the forecast on high demand for the product in the time to come, according to experts.
Vietnam imported nearly 1.2 million tonnes of raw cashew nuts worth 1.9 billion USD in the first four months of this year, increases of 300 percent and 323.5 percent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.
Vietnam has maintained its position as the world’s largest producer and exporter of cashew nuts in 2020, exporting an estimated 450,000 tonnes of cashew kernels worth 3.2 billion USD, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas).
Despite the difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam’s cashew exports in the first half of the year increased by 16 percent in volume year-on-year and 1 percent in value to 232,000 tonnes and nearly 1.53 billion USD, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS).
The Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) has decided to lower the cashew nut export target to 3.2 billion USD this year, down from the 4 billion USD set in late 2019, given the impact of COVID-19.
Vietnam’s cashew nut producers will have to lower their 2020 export target of 4 billion USD as the impacts of COVID-19 make it extremely difficult to achieve, according to Pham Van Cong, Chairman of the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas).
Vietnam sustained its position as the world’s leading cashew processor and exporter in 2018, yet the country still suffered from certain losses, so the sector must strive to regain what it lost in 2018 and improve its export value in 2019, according to insiders.
The domestic cashew industry would continue to face difficulties in processing and trading cashew nuts next year, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas).
Vietnam will need to import more than 300,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts in the remaining months of the year for processing to meet the demand of importers, according to processing companies.
The Vietnamese cashew sector is calling for an 800 million USD credit package from commercial banks to better serve its exports, as heard at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on July 6.
