<p></p><p>Vietnam shipped over 88,500 tons of cashew nuts in the first six months of 2012, earning US$602 million, up 14% year on year. The volume of cashew exports in the six months ending last June surged by 28.2% compared to the same period in 2011.</p> <p>According to the Vietnamese Cashew Association, merchants bought over 235,000 tons of cashews from farmers in the first six months and more than 29,000 tons still remain in inventories. During the same period, Vietnam imported over 116,000 tons of raw cashews, down 3.62% from the previous year. </p><p>In 2012, the 2012 cashew output is nearly 265,000 tons, down 37,000 tons against 2011. This year, the average price of exported cashews also fell by 8.11% to US$6,826 per ton. </p><p>The United States is the largest market for Vietnamese cashews, importing over 28,800 tons, worth US$168 million. </p><p> </p><br><p></p>