<p></p><p>The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development wants the cashew sector to quickly increase productivity in order to reduce heavy dependence on unprocessed cashew imports. The ministry has requested the Department of Cultivation and research institutes find viable solutions and develop new seedlings to help achieve the target though the farming area is kept stable. Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh said in Dispatch No. 4509/TBBNN-VP dated June 4 that the policy to promote intensive farming and replant new high-yield seedlings over the past years has borne fruit, and it is expected that each hectare will produce two tons of cashew per season. According to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas), last year’s cashew output leapt by three quintals a hectare compared to 2013. <br></p> <p>The department said cashew production jumped from 8.5-9.5 quintals per hectare in the 2006-2013 period to 11.71 quintals a hectare in 2014 thanks to intensive farming, up 2.3 quintal a hectare and equivalent to 24.4% versus 2013. Though Vietnam has the highest cashew productivity worldwide, the current 300,000 hectares of farming cannot produce sufficient unprocessed cashew for domestic processors to turn out nuts for local consumption and export. Statistics of the ministry showed that the country spent US$1.12 billion importing 853,000 tons of crude cashew last year, up nearly 48% in volume and 73% in value year-on-year. In the first five months of this year, Vietnam imported 226,000 tons of raw cashew worth US$344 million, down 20.5% and 7.7% year-on-year respectively. Vinacas said the price of crude cashew has risen in recent months, so processing firms should consider adjusting the selling price of processed products to avoid losses. In 2006, Vietnam overtook India to become the world’s largest exporter of cashew nuts but the country has since been dependent on crude cashew from other countries. The ministry said cashew exports totaled 119,000 tons worth US$910 million in the first five months of this year, up nearly 2% in volume and 10% in value year-on-year.<br></p><p></p>