Vietnam’s cashew industry will have to deal with a number of difficulties in 2008 resulting from a later harvest crop, lack of laborers and high increase of material, the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) warned.
Vinacas said the cold weather over the past months has slowed down the growth of cashew farms, prompting the harvest of cashew crop to come one month later than usual.
Local farmers have harvested only 10 per cent of total output, with almost of them being low quality, and the remainder of 90 per cent will be harvested in the following months.
The association said Vietnamese cashew processing and exporting companies will be facing a sharp increase of production cost in 2008, which are attributed by high raw cashew nuts, around US$950 or US$1,000 a ton, and rises by 20 per cent or 30 per cent of labor cost.
Local companies are lacking raw cashew nuts for processing in order to fulfill already-signed contracts.
Vinacas has advised the companies to buy raw cashew at VND15,000 a kilo at farm from February 29, and at VND14,500 a kilo from February 29 to March 10, adding that the companies who are in short of material should not ink new deal.
The Vinacas said Vietnam may export 160,000 tons of cashew nuts this year, of which 150,000 tons are locally made and 10,000 tons are imported, adding that total raw cashew to be imported will be 200,000 tons, mostly from Cambodia and African countries.
The association said with average export prices of US$4,700 or US$4,800 a ton, Vietnam cashew industry may earn US$680 million in 2008, up from US$650 million last year.
Vinacas has asked Vietnamese government to remove import taxes on raw cashew in 2008 from current 5 per cent or 7.5 per cent.
Vietnam is estimated to have notched up US$114 million from exporting 23,000 tons of cashew nuts in the first two months of 2008, up 60 per cent on year in value and 31 per cent in volume.
Last year, Vietnam earned US$650 million from exporting 151,730 tons of cashew nuts, up more than 29 per cent on year in value and 19 per cent in volume. Average export prices of Vietnamese cashew nuts were US$4,288 a ton.
The U.S. was the biggest importer of Vietnamese cashew nuts in 2007, consuming 52,900 tons worth US$211.5 million, up 27 per cent on year in value and 26 per cent in volume. (Vietnam Economic Times, Vinanet)
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