The industry face difficulties with lack of production materials

Although Vietnam exports 347,000 tons of cashew nuts in 2016, reaching a turnover of 2.84 billion USD, the highest ever. But to reach the target of 3 billion USD in 2017, the industry is facing many difficulties.

The price of raw cashew nuts rises, farmers run out of cash. Photo: Dinh Hue / VNA

It is the lack of raw materials, risks from import contracts and barriers to barriers to export markets.

* Lack of production materials 

As estimated by the Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS), the country will export 360 thousand tons of cashew in 2017, with a turnover of $ 3 billion. 

However, recently, VINACAS said that the inventory of raw domestic raw materials to the early January -2017 is relatively low, while this year's forecast is expected to arrive late. Remarkably, cashew harvesting in Binh Phuoc will be in late February (lunar calendar) in 2017 but yields are difficult to assess due to weather factors, especially the typical ENSO weather phenomenon this year. 

In order to face the shortage of raw materials for production, VINACAS said that businesses will have to balance and import more raw materials to produce until the beginning of 2017. 

According to statistics of the General Department of Customs, the accumulated from the beginning of the year to the middle of February, the amount of cashew exports of Vietnam reached nearly 22 thousand tons, equivalent to 198 million USD. However, Vietnam spent $ 172 million to import nearly 68,000 tonnes of cashew materials. Accordingly, the amount of imported things more than three times the amount of export. 

Before the year 2016, Vietnam also imported the largest amount of cash ever, with over 1 million tons, up 14% over the previous year and more than three times the amount of cashew exports. 

However, the import of large quantities of raw cash brings with it the potential risk to the business in the international payment. Specifically, many importers have signed contracts with Vietnam but do not perform contracts or delay delivery.Domestic enterprises are forced to cancel the export contract of cashew kernel due to lack of raw materials for processing, affecting the prestige of the business. 

VINACAS said that this situation may continue in the coming time domestic raw materials are not enough to meet production needs. 

* Solution 

In order to meet the export target and solve this additional material problem, cashew processing enterprises have put forth measures to increase the source of imported raw materials to 200,000 tons, reaching 1.3 million tons of raw materials. Raw cashew imports for processing. In parallel with the increase in the production of imported species, the quality of raw materials must be maintained to limit the depreciation and damage caused by sour, moldy, poor quality. 

Especially, cashew growers continue to instruct farmers to intensify cashew, graft and improve old cashew orchards to improve cashew nut quality while improving yield. In addition, cashew processing enterprises also promote cooperation in producing and linking 4 solid material producers in the country in parallel with multilateral relations with international grain associations and firmly grasp export markets. As well as more active in terms of export prices in the coming time. 

In addition, according to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, in 2017 there will be the phenomenon of ENSO (a mixture of El Nino and LaNina phenomenon), hot sunshine combined with prolonged rain, shorter dry season, due to In the coming time, businesses have to invest more drying yards, coloring machines to serve the drying of cashew nuts under conditions of rain and damp conditions; To increase investment in equipment to shorten the processing time of cashew than before to promptly handle imported materials with high humidity.

Tuan Anh

Source: Vietnam + / VNA (aggregate)