Vietnam ships more than 160,000 tons of cashew nuts abroad annually, and has become the largest cashew nut exporter to the US.
India lost its status as top cashew nut exporter to Vietnam four years back and is now a major importer of cashew nuts from Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
In the first eight months of 2012, India imported 3,245 tons of cashew nuts at an average price of Rs163.38 per kg. A large portion of that volume was supplied by Vietnam.
According to the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India, huge volumes of cashew imports are likely to continue in the future.
India’s cashew nut demand is increasing, both for household consumption and food processing.
Vietnam is a promising source of broken cashew nuts; local exporters are therefore keen to capitalize on the Indian market.
Cashew Export Promotion Council of India estimates India needs at least 700,000 tons of imported cashew nuts for its food processing industry.
