<p></p><p>Viet Nam has to to import about 200,000 tons of raw cashew nuts in the remaining months of the year to fulfill this year's target of shipping 150,000 tons for an export turnover of US$1 billion, according to the Viet Nam Cashew Association (Vinacas).Domestic enterprises imported nearly 157,000 tons of raw cashew in the first seven months of the year, mostly from Cambodia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau and Indonesia due to insufficient domestic supply, the association said.</p> <p>Both cashew plantation area and output reduced this year, the association said.Cashew output was only 264,810 tons this year compared to 301,730 tons in the last crop."Demand for cashew in the world market, especially in the US and China, will increase from now to the end of the year since many festivities will take place at this time. So local cashew exporters need more material to processing for export," Vinacas said.When cashew nut consumption went up, cashew export prices would also increase, it added. </p><p>During the first seven months of this year, the country shipped 105,000 tons of cashew nuts abroad, earning $713 million, an increase of 25 per cent in volume and 9.7 per cent in value.The average export price in the period was lower than that last year, the association said.The US remained the largest buyer of Vietnamese cashew, followed by China. </p><p>Last year, Viet Nam exported 166,109 tons of cashew, earning $1.35 billion, a drop of 16.46 per cent in volume but an increase of 20.13 per cent in value over 2010.Given current market difficulties and a shortage of raw material, the association has lowered its export target for this year. This is a reduction of 9.7 per cent in volume and 24.3 per cent in value compared with 2011. </p><p> </p><br><p></p>