<p>Local firms are encouraged not to sign low-value export deals because at the end of next month India will have to buy a large volume of cashew nuts to prepare for local consumption in the summer, Nguyen Van Chieu, vice chairman of Vinacas, told a conference on buying and importing unprocessed cashew for the 2013 crop in HCMC on Tuesday. Besides, he noted, the U.S., Europe or China will have to resort to importing Vietnamese cashew given their falling stock.</p> <p>The country in the first two months exported a combined 33,000 tons of cashew with a total value of US$204 million, shrinking nearly 60.1% in volume but rising 35.5% in value compared to the same period last year. Vinacas forecasts foreign importers will race to purchase cashew from Vietnam in the next few months. Le Quang Luyen, chairman of Phuc An Company based in Binh Phuoc Province, said that if local firms race to lower cashew nut export price, they will have no other choice but to revise down the price of crude cashew bought from farmers at home to secure profits.</p> <p>“With over VND23,000 for a kilo of cashew, local growers will only enjoy a profit of some VND2,000 per kilo and if the price continues to fall, they will be forced to cut down cashew trees to plant other trees,” Luyen said.</p> <p>He ascribed the lamentable situation to the fact that the cashew industry has heavily relied on imported crude cashew.</p> <p> </p>