Cashew prices dip

Ho Chi Minh City - Cashew prices have dropped by VND6,000 per kilogram versus the previous crop even though cashew is just entering the harvest season.

Cashew nuts are harvested at the beginning of harvest season. Cashew prices have dropped by up to VND6,000 per kilogram versus the previous crop – PHOTO: PHU LI

Fresh cashew prices fell to VND26,000-VND28,000 per kilogram from the VND32,000 per kilogram earned by the previous crop.

Many farmers have expressed concern over a potential steep decline in cashew prices at the end of the crop.

“Normally, cashew prices are pushed up at the beginning of the harvest season, and then they are gradually reduced to the lowest level at the end of the season as the quality of cashews is affected by various worms,” said Lam Van Phong, a cashew farmer in the southern province of Binh Phuoc.

In recent years, cashew growers have suffered heavy losses due to crop failure triggered by dangerous pests, diseases and unfavorable weather conditions.

As such, many cashew farmers have shown little interest in expanding the cashew growing area in spite of the shortage of raw cashew for production.

Vietnam has a modest 300,000 hectares under cashew cultivation, meeting only one-fifth of the demand for the raw material, which is used for domestic production.

Besides this, old cashew trees in the country make up some 70% of the cashew farming acreage, resulting in an average cashew output of 1.1 tons per hectare.

In addition, the Vietnamese cashew has secured a dominant position in the global market, but Vietnamese farmers have not yet been incentivized to sell their products, discouraging cashew growers from increasing the cashew cultivation area.