In recent years, Vietnam's cashew export turnover has always maintained the number one position in the world, with a value of about 3 billion USD/year. Considered as the world's leading cashew producer, however, Vietnam's cashew industry is facing many opportunities and challenges in the context of fierce competition with countries like Cambodia and some African countries. . Challenge with "billion dollar tree" According to experts, the development of cashew in Vietnam in general and the cashew "capital" of Binh Phuoc in particular still has a lot of room and mixed challenges. not diversified, mainly in raw form, so the added value is still low, the competitiveness of some products is still poor; the linkage and cooperation in development along the value chain is still weak, especially in the stage of trade promotion. trade, linking with foreign partners with potential markets. Along with that, linking raw material areas for processing and export is still limited; geographical indications, brand development, trademark protection, international intellectual property for cashew trees have not been done much; Cultivation techniques and transfer of cashew varieties still have certain limitations. “Our country's cashew industry is currently facing the risk of being affected by natural disasters, climate change is very large; fierce competition when Cambodia, West African and East African countries with large land bank are also promoting the development of cashew trees and the processing and export of cashew kernels" - Director of the Center for Cashew Research and Development (Southern Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology) Tran Cong Khanh emphasized. Binh Phuoc province is considered the "capital" of Vietnam's cashew nuts, accounting for more than 50% of the total area and 50% of the country's cashew production. “In Binh Phuoc, there are more than 152,000 hectares of cashews with an output of 170,000 tons/year. Due to suitable natural conditions, at the same time, people put into cultivation high-yielding cashew varieties, suitable for ecological sub-regions, applying new technical advances to intensive farming, taking care of Binh's cashew tree productivity. Phuoc achieves high," said Vice Chairman of Binh Phuoc Provincial People's Committee Tran Tuyet Minh. According to Binh Phuoc Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the cashew processing industry has also become a key industry and strength of the province. Currently, there are 1,416 cashew processing facilities in the area, the largest in the country. Every year, Binh Phuoc's cashew processing industry contributes from 27-45% of total export turnover. In 2022, the total export value of cashew nut products of Binh Phuoc will reach 1,045 billion USD. The cashew processing industry has contributed to the dramatic transformation of the agricultural production structure, from self-sufficient and self-sufficient agriculture to modern agriculture and large commodity production. After processing, cashew nut products of Binh Phuoc province are exported to more than 100 countries and territories around the world such as Europe, the US, Japan, Australia, China..., accounting for about 70% of export market share. of the world cashew industry, contributing to creating regular jobs for about 80,000 workers in cashew nut processing facilities and workers collecting in the garden. According to the agricultural sector of Binh Phuoc province, besides the above advantages, the local cashew industry still has many difficulties and challenges. Cashew processing facilities in the area are still not active in the source of raw materials; The province's raw cashew supply only meets about 30% of the province's processing capacity, while 70% of raw cashew nuts depend on imported supplies from Indonesia, Cambodia and Africa. Most of the cashew processing facilities in the area have not focused on investing in developing raw material areas; have not supported, signed purchasing contracts with cashew growers, so the source of raw materials is not stable, there is a shortage of domestic materials for processing. In addition, the link between enterprises and farmers in the production-processing-business chain is not close; Many cashew processing establishments are on a micro scale with limited financial potential. “Last time, China reduced its imports of cashew nuts from Binh Phuoc and Vietnam, but sharply increased imports from sources in Africa such as Ivory Coast, Togo, Tanzania, and Benin. Therefore, Binh Phuoc cashew industry in particular and Vietnam in general are facing fierce competition from other countries. Besides, over the past time, the EU has also reduced imports of cashew nuts from Binh Phuoc but increased imports from Ivory Coast. In the global cashew industry value chain, Vietnam only accounts for 30%, the remaining value belongs to international distributors and roasters," said a representative of Binh Phuoc Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Upgrading the value chain In the "cashew capital" Binh Phuoc, many people know the "cashew king" Dung Quy Dong, with more than 40 years of experience growing cashews. According to Mr. Dong, if you want to create high added value for cashews, there is no other way but the way to apply new organic farming standards to meet the high requirements of consumers in markets such as: America, Europe. Vietnam's first-class service has been compared to 1 in the world Demonstration model at Vietnam Cashew Processing Technology Joint Stock Company. (Photo: K CAI H/VNA) To pursue the dream of organic cashew, in 2017 Mr. Dong embarked on organic farming. With a strict process supervised by European agencies, from soil preparation, seed, care process, seed quality... After 2 years, Mr. Dong was granted a certificate of organic farming meeting US standards and EU. Mr. Dong said that the total area of ​​cashew cultivation in his family is 420ha; in which, 200ha has been certified organic according to European and American standards. “It is necessary to build organic cashew production linkage models, ensure export standards and intensively cultivate new cashew varieties to increase added value for cashew growers. In addition, developing new type of cooperatives for intensive cashew production, linking production, creating concentrated raw material areas with high output and quality, moving towards building certified cashew production models. acceptance, in order to improve the quality and value of cashew products," said Mr. Tran Cong Khanh. Mr. Khanh also said that it is necessary to apply models of application of high technology, biotechnology, organic agricultural production, green and clean agriculture in cashew cultivation; promoting the application of production in the direction of safety, meeting VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards; synchronously implement solutions on varieties, farming techniques, investment in intensive farming to ensure productivity and quality of agricultural raw materials. Changing thinking in production Vice Chairman of Vietnam Cashew Association Bach Khanh Nhut said that after more than 40 years of establishment and development, Vietnam's cashew industry has made great strides. From learning about foreign cashew processing equipment and technology, it has now become a technology master, leading in the world in terms of cashew kernel exports, accounting for more than 75% of the world's cashew kernel exports. gender. “However, a paradox is that while Vietnam is the largest exporter of cashew kernels in the world, in recent years, the amount of cashew kernels imported into Vietnam to do a few more stages and then export has increased rapidly. This is the consequence of allowing the import of cashew kernels into Vietnam without applying together with measures to protect the domestic cashew processing industry," emphasized Mr. Bach Khanh Nhat. Regarding the radical and strategic solution for Vietnam's cashew industry in general and Binh Phuoc's cashew industry in particular, according to Mr. Bach Khanh Nhat, it is necessary to strongly switch to deep processing with diverse products to meet the needs of customers. , different tastes of "end consumers." A problem posed by Binh Phuoc Department of Science and Technology is the issue of geographical indications. In March 2018, the National Office of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Science and Technology officially granted the geographical indication protection title "Binh Phuoc Cashew" valid indefinitely throughout the territory of Vietnam. According to the Binh Phuoc Department of Science and Technology, the successful protection of the geographical indication "Binh Phuoc cashew nut" has opened up great opportunities for the cashew industry, which is a common intellectual property, a form of protection. households with high intellectual property, associated with indications on the origin of products, thus allowing businesses and people to use them to gradually approach market development, especially in difficult markets. is an opportunity to bring Binh Phuoc cashew nut products to the international market. “We all know and are trying to do the need for a synchronous implementation of specific solutions and actions. The unanimity of all individuals, organizations and businesses in the supply chain and value chain with the effective support of the state. From the stage of selecting varieties, planting, tending, harvesting, preserving to investing and managing advanced and modern processing lines with high standards; invest in market research, discover and arouse demand, thereby creating products to meet market needs, and at the same time have dynamic and creative promotion methods to quickly bring products to consumers. to domestic and international consumers," said Mr. Bach Khanh Nhut.