Cashew exports surge in first quarter
The cashew sector enjoyed sharp year-on-year rises in export volume and value in the first three months of this year at 31% and 43.6% respectively thanks to higher quality and price.
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In the first quarter, 73,000 tonnes of cashew were shipped abroad for US$739 million. In March alone, 26,000 tonnes were exported with revenue of US$265 million.
The US, China and the Netherlands remained the biggest import markets with respective market shares of 30.5%, 16.8% and 14.3%.
Apart from a fall in the Australian market, all other markets saw an upturn.
However, Dang Hoang Giang, Vice President of the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas), said the results do not reflect developments of cashew exports for the whole year, as higher demand in the Lunar New Year in February sharply impacted cashew sales in the first quarter.
Along with the rise in export volume, the price of cashew also increased 12.5% over the same period in 2017 to reach US$10,261 per tonne.
Giang held there are good signs for cashew prices for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, Vinacas will increase exports of processed products for higher added value.
In the future, cashew export volume may fall, but value will continue rising, he asserted, adding that total export turnover this year is expected to be equal to that of 2017 at US$3.62 billion.
Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the country imported nearly 200,000 tonnes of cashew worth US$460 million in the first quarter of 2018, up nearly 20% in volume and 33% in value over the same period last year.
Giang explained that a lot of cashew was imported to Vietnam in the period following contracts signed in 2017. Therefore, the volume does not reflect Vietnam’s demand in the period or influence the sector’s targets.
