Vietnam shipped a total of 105,000 tonnes of cashew nuts abroad in Q1, earning 630 million USD, down 6.7 percent in volume and 5 percent in value compared to those in the same period of last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. In March alone, the sector pocketed 241 million USD from exporting 40,000 tonnes of the nut, year-on-year decreases of 11 percent in volume and 9 percent in value. The Vietnam Cashew Association attributed the declines to the reduction in import of the country’s major markets such as the Netherlands, Canada, China, Italy and Russia. In addition, a suspected cashew nut scam involving the loss of the bills of lading of containers exported to Europe from mid-March also affected the total volume and value in the first quarter./.