The Vietnam’s Foreign Affairs Ministry this Tuesday hosted a hybrid conference on cashew trade with officials from Africa governments and measures to ensure exports of the crop.
The gathering saw over 70 representatives of ministries, sectors, localities, research institutes, import-export enterprises, and processing-production facilities attending.
The event was aimed at evaluating the status quo and opportunities available including challenges facing the import of raw cashew from Africa and to discuss orientations and measures to improve the activity in the time to come.
The Vietnam Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu stressed that cashew trade and cooperation in cashew production and processing are one of the important contents for collaboration with African countries in the future.
Participants noted that Africa was promoting a trend of ‘self-reliance’ in domestic cashew production and processing. In addition, Vietnam’s import of raw cashew from Africa is also affected by poor harvests, farming techniques in African countries, the food crisis, inflation, and competition from international importers, among others.
They also suggested a various measures including building a sustainable chain, investing in joint ventures and association with local partners, and establishing local offices, and for representatives to learn about the market.
Vietnam is the world’s largest exporter of finished cashew nuts, but the country must import about 70% of raw materials for processing the finished product. Major suppliers of raw cashew for Vietnam are West African countries, Cambodia and Indonesia.
The cashew nut is commonly considered a snack nut and is eaten on its own, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter.
In 2019, four million tonnes of cashew nuts were produced globally, with the Ivory Coast and India, the leading producers.
As well as the nut and fruit, the plant has several other uses.
The shell of the cashew seed yields derivatives that can be used in many applications including lubricants, waterproofing, and paints.
The cashew apple is light reddish to yellow fruit, whose pulp and juice can be processed into a sweet, astringent fruit drink or fermented and distilled into liquor.
