According to the Vietnam Cashew Association, the country accounts for 37 percent of the world’s cashew export market share. The announcement was made at a conference held on March 21 in the southeastern province of Binh Phuoc.
Of the total 500,000 tons of cashew nuts trading on the market, 180,000 tons are from Vietnam. The domestic cashew industry should thus implement measures to maintain its top position and to develop robustly in the future, the association said.
Vietnam has planned to cooperate with Laos and Cambodia to grow 200,000 hectares of cashew nuts, and suggested that farmers intensify cultivation to increase their yield and earnings.
The association also suggested that local firms invest more in technology to produce instant products in order to promote domestic consumption. The equipment used to process cashew nuts should be upgraded so that by 2015, 80 percent of production is automated, it said.
The March 21 conference, held to discuss development strategies for the local cashew industry, was part of the first ever Golden Cashew Festival. The event was held to honor cashew farmers and promote the Vietnamese cashew industry.
