The three-day 13th Vinacas Golden Cashew Rendezvous saw its main event kick off in the central province of Quang Binh on February 27, attracting participants from more than 40 countries and territories worldwide. The annual event by the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) aims to connect cashew stakeholders and provide them with an opportunity to discuss measures for strong and sustainable development of cashew businesses in each country, and the global cashew industry to develop strongly and sustainably. Speaking at the event, Vinacas President Pham Van Cong said that the global supply chains including that in the cashew industry have gradually recovered from the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, conflicts in parts of the world, high inflation, tightened monetary policy of many countries, and reduced purchasing power badly affected Vietnam’s and the global cashew industry. In 2023, not only Vietnamese cashew nuts but also those from India, Cote d'Ivoire, and Brazil continued suffering from dropping prices. Moreover, the prices of raw cashew nuts also decreased while output increased sharply. High production costs and low selling prices cause many cashew processors and exporters in Vietnam and other countries to suffer losses or get no profits. Many processors have had to temporarily suspend operations or reduce output, posing a high risk of mass closures, he said. The dropping cashew prices also have a significant impact on importers, making them less likely to sign long-term orders like before. Meanwhile, there remain concerning issues relating to food hygiene and food safety of both cashew kernels and raw nuts. Cong said that it’s necessary to stablise the cashew industry, and urged domestic and international stakeholders to propose measures to reshape the global cashew supply chain and solve its problems. Also on February 27, Vinacas signed cooperation agreements and documents with cashew associations in many other countries. In 2023, Vietnam’s cashew exports reached the target of 644,000 tonnes, equivalent to 3.6 billion USD, up 24% in volume and up 18% in value against 2022.