According to statistics from the General Department of Customs, in the first 4 months of this year, Vietnam exported over 217,500 tons of cashew nuts, earning 1.17 billion USD. Compared to the same period last year, our country's cashew nut exports increased by 34% in volume and 22.5% in value.

In the past 4 months, cashew nut exports to most markets have seen positive growth. In particular, Vietnam's cashew nut exports to many large markets have seen double- to triple-digit growth.

The US remains the largest customer for Vietnamese cashew nuts as consumers in this country are very fond of buying them. By the end of April this year, our country exported nearly 57,200 tons of cashew nuts to the US market, with a turnover of 304.1 million USD, up 32.3% in volume and 20.4% in value compared to the same period last year.

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Vietnamese cashew nuts are praised by China as delicious and favored by American customers. Illustration photo: Son Trang/NNVN

Notably, in the Chinese market, Vietnamese cashew nuts are praised for being delicious, of superior quality compared to domestic products, and of stable supply year-round. Therefore, China has increased its purchase of cashew nuts from our country and reduced its purchase from other countries.

Statistics show that in the first four months of the year alone, Vietnam exported 37,200 tons of cashew nuts to China, earning 201.4 million USD. Compared to the same period last year, cashew nut exports increased sharply by 97.6% in volume and 62.4% in value.

Notably, more than 90% of China's cashew nuts are imported from Vietnam.

Last year, Vietnam's cashew nut exports reached 644 thousand tons, worth 3.64 billion USD, up 24% in volume and more than 18% in value compared to 2022. The US and China are also major customers of Vietnamese cashew nuts.

Specifically, in 2023, the US is Vietnam's largest cashew export market, accounting for 24.6% of the country's total cashew exports. The volume of cashews exported to this market reached 158.5 thousand tons, worth 886 million USD, up 10.3% in volume and 5.1% in export turnover compared to 2022.

Cashew nut exports to the Chinese market recorded a breakthrough, reaching 113 thousand tons, earning 683 million USD, up 49.8% in volume and 55.2% in value compared to the previous year. The Chinese market accounts for 17.5% of our country's total cashew nut export turnover.

Among the 10 largest markets for Vietnamese cashew nuts, the growth rate of the Chinese market is only behind the Russian market, but far exceeds other markets such as the US, UAE, Germany, UK, Canada...

Despite fluctuations in price and output, Vietnamese cashew nuts always account for an overwhelming proportion of 80-90% of total imports in the Chinese and US markets. The Vietnamese cashew industry has maintained its number 1 position in the world in terms of exports for 16 consecutive years.

The global cashew market is forecast to grow at an average rate of 4.6% during the period 2022-2027. The growing trend of veganism and plant-based diets has led to an increase in demand for nuts and nut-based foods, including cashews. In the Chinese market, the Vietnamese cashew industry has a great opportunity to boost exports as demand from this billion-people country continues to increase.

“Cashew exports will continue to maintain high growth momentum, aiming for a new record of 3.8 billion USD this year,” said Mr. Bach Khanh Nhut, Vice President of the Vietnam Cashew Association.

However, for sustainable development, the leader of the Vietnam Cashew Association said that our country's cashew industry needs to promote the development of raw material areas instead of relying heavily on imports as it does now.

Enterprises can cooperate, exploit and develop cashew raw material areas in Cambodia and southern Laos; then import this raw cashew source to Vietnam for processing.

Selling more than half a million tons of cashew nuts, Vietnam earned 2.95 billion USD . In the first 10 months of this year, our country only sold more than half a million tons of cashew nuts and earned nearly 2.95 billion USD. Of which, the US and China spent a large amount of money to buy cashew nuts from our country. This industry has changed from a trade deficit to a trade surplus.