<p>Vietnam hopes to ship 95,000 tons of cashew in the second half of the year, bringing the year’s total to 210,000 tons, an increase of five percent over last year, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas). Speaking at a conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on July 12 to review the industry’s performance in the first half of this year, Dang Hoang Giang, Vinacas general secretary, said some 115,000 tons of cashew worth 716 million USD were exported in the period.</p> <p>This represented a year-on-year increase of 30.3 percent in volume and 18.8 percent in value, he said. However, the average export price for the period was 6,185 USD per ton, down 9.46 percent against the same period last year, he said.</p> <p>The US remained the biggest importer of Vietnamese cashew, followed by China , EU and Australia . Giang said cashew businesses have encountered many difficulties in the first half of the year, including shrinking output and a shortage of working capital.</p> <p>Cashew output last year was just 264,810 tons, compares to 301,730 tons in the preceding year. The output for this year would be even lower, he said. For the second half of the year, there are both positive and negative signs for the cashew industry, according to Giang.</p> <p>Regarding the negative aspects, he said the world economy has been recovering very slowly from the prolonged slump. In addition, India recently raised its import duties on cashew nut, causing difficulties for Vietnamese exporters.</p> <p>But the appreciation of the US dollar against the Vietnamese dong and the stimulation packages launched by big markets like the US, Japan and the EU to increase local consumption are positive factors, he said. Vinacas forecasts that demand for cashew in the world market will increase from now to the end of the year, given that many festivities take place during this period.</p> <p>To meet its export target, Vietnam would need to import about 180,000 tons of raw cashew in the remaining months of the year for processing, Giang said. Domestic processing companies imported 220,000 tons of raw cashew in the first half of the year, up nearly 88.9 percent from the same period last year, mostly from Cambodia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau and Indonesia.</p> <p><strong>Cashewinfo views: It is a definitely a laudable achievement for the cashew sector in Vietnam to report a good export of cashew nuts despite problems like the slackening demand from Europe, low prices, credit issues and the struggle with the local supplies. Quality issues with imports from Africa is a serious issue but has to be dealt with a pinch of salt as most of the transactions have been more or less bilateral in nature and an institutionalized approach would be a new concept for the industry.</strong></p>