Key cashew growing area suffers continuous crop failures

Cashew farmers in Binh Phuoc Province, the country's key cashew growing area, are facing a hard time as their 2018-2019 cashew crops have failed.

Farmers harvest cashew in Binh Phuoc Province – PHOTO: PHU LI

The Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS) had earlier rejected news reports about this year’s cashew crop failure triggered by global cashew market volatility, saying that the crops in Vietnam and Cambodia were “normal.” The total cashew output in the global market was expected to amount to four million tons this year, up 300,000-400,000 tons against last year. As such, the volume of raw cashew supplied to the market is not deficient, according to the association.

However, at present, farmers in Binh Phuoc Province, which has some 174,000 hectares under cashew cultivation out of a total of 300,000 hectares in the country, are facing shrinking prices and poor yield at the end of the harvest season.

“We have forgotten the happy feeling of having a bumper crop over the past few years,” said Lam Van Phong, a resident of Binh Minh Commune, Bu Dang District.

Phong has over four hectares of land dedicated to cashew cultivation. He said that his family has harvested some three tons of cashew, down by one ton from the previous crop. The poor harvest will create financial difficulties for the family of five.

Apart from the poor crop, the price of fresh cashew this year has fallen sharply to VND28,000 per kilogram on average from last year’s price of VND35,000.

Facing the same fate, Doan Van Nghiep, residing in Nghia Trung Commune, Bu Dang District, owns a six-hectare cashew farm, which has yielded a mere 2.5 tons of cashew, even though he spent some VND15 million on plant protection drugs during the flowering and fruiting periods.

Many farmers said that the growth and yield of cashew trees depend heavily on weather. Cashew flowers are damaged by unseasonal rain and hoar frost, leading to poor output. Farmers’ measures to protect the flowers from bad weather are typically unsuccessful.

Cashew growers in other districts in Binh Phuoc Province such as Dong Phu, Bu Gia Map and Bu Dop have also endured crop failures. Some of them noted that a few years ago, seasonal laborers from southeastern Vietnam would flock to Binh Phuoc Province during harvest time. However, in recent years, the number of laborers arriving has dipped due to the low yields.

As a province supplying up to 50% of the total cashew output in the country, the cashew crop failure in Binh Phuoc Province has caused domestic cashew producers and processors to depend on cashew imports.

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs show that cashew imports have risen consistently since the beginning of the year. March alone saw 80,000 tons of raw cashew, worth US$137 million, being imported, up 20% and 12.5% against the figures seen in February, respectively.