Southern Binh Phuoc province, the largest cashew growing area in Vietnam, has decided to invest nearly VND30 billion (US$1.875 million) into setting up high-yield and quality cashew area from now to 2010, according to the provincial Agriculture Extension Centre.
Accordingly, the province will grow more than 1,100 hectares of high-yield and quality cashew trees in Dac Nhau and Duc Lieu communes of Bu Dang district and Duc Hanh and Phuoc Tin communes of Phuoc Long district.
The centre will provide local farmers with technical and financial assistances as well as equipments to help them carry out the project smoothly, which aims at increasing average cashew output in the province to 2 tons a ha, from current 1.2 tons a ha.
By the end of the 2006-07 crop, Binh Phuoc is estimated to produce 160,000 tons of cashew nuts with better quality, 30,000 tons higher than the previous season.
This year, raw cashew price averages at VND10,200 per kilo, higher than the previous level of 9,500 VND per kilo. The export price is $4,341 per ton, up from $3,674 against last year.
As of early 2006, Binh Phuoc had around 93,071ha under cashew plantation, taking the lead in Vietnam in cashew area. Producing nearly 150,000 tons of raw cashew nuts per year, the province now accounts for some 30 per cent of Vietnam’s total cashew output.
The province is now home to around some 51 cashew nut processing factories with total capacity of nearly 10,000-20,000 tons per annum. (
www.agroviet.gov.vn)
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