Raw cashew imports rocket in Jan-Apr period
VGP - Viet Nam imported nearly 1.2 million tons of raw cashew nuts worth US$1.9 billion in the first four months of this year, up 300 percent and 323.5 percent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.
The volume neared the total posted in 2020, of 1.45 million tons, and at the current rate this year’s imports could exceed the 1.8 million tons planned by the Viet Nam Cashew Association (VINACAS).
VINACAS attributed the surge in raw cashew imports over recent months to the fact that exports have maintained stable growth while domestic supply hasn’t been enough.
According to the African Cashew Alliance, global cashew demand will continue growing strongly in 2021, especially in Europe and the U.S., which recorded growth rates of 17 percent and 8 percent, respectively, in cashew consumption last year despite COVID-19.
In March 2021, the country imported 300,000 tons of raw cashew nuts, spending US$490 million. For the whole first quarter of the year, the volume and value of cashew imports reached 539,000 tons and US$839 million, up 174.2 percent in volume and 171.5 percent in value over the same period in 2020. Tanzania , Cambodia and the Ivory Coast are the three main raw cashew supply markets for Viet Nam.
In the first four months of 2021, the country earned US$894 million from shipping 152,000 tons of cashew nuts abroad, down 7.4 percent in value but up 8.6 percent in volume from the same period last yea.
The VINACAS said Viet Nam country remains the world’s leading cashew exporter, but falling export prices are likely to lower profit margins.
By Vien Nhu
