Mr. Pham Van Cong, Chairman of the Vietnam Cashew Association, gave the opening speech at the conference. (Photo: Xuan Anh / VNA) One of the important foundation for the success and brand name of the cashew export processing industry in Vietnam over the years is the development of processing technology . In the context of increasingly fierce competition between countries and regions, Vietnam needs to focus on researching new technologies, improving the quality of cashew processing machinery and equipment, actively supporting in maintaining its position. number one in the world for cashew processing and export. This is the content emphasized by Mr. Pham Van Cong, Chairman of the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) at the Conference on summarizing the work of science and technology of the cashew industry in 2020, implementing the tasks in 2021, held the evening of 8 /. 1 in Ho Chi Minh City. According to Mr. Pham Van Cong, thanks to the application of science and technology, mechanization, and automation in cashew production and processing, the problems of environment, labor, and product quality control have been solved. cashew industry for many years. Thanks to science and technology, the Vietnamese cashew industry, although starting late, has quickly created a brand and position in the global cashew market. Up to now, Vietnam has been recognized as a country with the leading cashew processing capacity and technology in the world. However, in addition to success, it is also necessary to recognize and re-evaluate the industry's limitations and challenges to ensure sustainable development and bring higher value to the cashew production-processing-consumption chain. Vietnam. Currently, most cashew processing factories in Vietnam are mechanized. However, the level of mechanization is not synchronized and the efficiency is not high. The labor-intensive stages such as hard shell cutting, silk peeling, and sorting have been mechanized but not fully automated in the processing cycle. Strengthen the application of science and technology to listen to the high-value knowledge University of Technology experts shared information at the conference. (Photo: Xuan Anh / VNA) Mr. Nguyen Xuan Khoi, Deputy Chairman of Vinacas Cashew Processing Equipment Technology Club, stated that the mechanized efficiency in the cashew industry is not high because the mechanical processing process has not been properly established, production has not been connected synchronously. In addition, the issue of energy saving has not been given adequate attention, the old human resource has not met the requirements of efficient operation of the modern machinery system, leading to waste. According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Khoi, to maintain advantages, increase competitiveness, avoid moving production to countries with abundant raw materials, cashew processing factories in Vietnam must have a new development orientation. suitable for the actual context. Specifically, processing enterprises must focus on the quality of cashew nuts instead of only focusing on increasing output. With the current requirements of the market, factors of quality, food safety and hygiene must be strictly controlled, otherwise it will adversely affect the brand of cashew nuts produced in Vietnam. “The building of cashew brand identity in Vietnam must be associated with mastering technology, improving management capacity, creating a superior competitive advantage compared to other countries. At the same time, it is necessary to shift from raw processing to deep processing to add value per product unit, ”Khoi shared. Meanwhile, experts with a lot of experience in the cashew industry share that the cashew processing industry of Vietnam has been highly appreciated but has not really exploited the value that cashew has inherent. In addition to deep processing of cashew kernel, processing enterprises need to strengthen cooperation with units to research and develop technology to process by-products from hard shells, silk shells, cashew oil because these are products that have great economic and application value. According to the plan of Vinacas, in 2021 and the following years, the cashew industry will continue to persistently implement the goal of "keeping quantity, increasing quality, increasing prices" in production, business, and export. export turnover of 3.6 billion USD, up nearly 13% compared to 2020./.