Cashew Sector Calls for Govt’s Financial Assistance
The Vietnam Cashew Nut Association has sent a petition calling for the Government’s financial assistance to help the sector overcome difficulties in 2009, the association’s Acting Chairman Nguyen Duc Thanh said.
Thanh said the sector needs VND6.7 trillion this year, including VND2 trillion at lending rate of 0 per cent from the Vietnam Development Bank and VND4.7 trillion at low rate from commercial banks.
He added that Vietnamese cashew companies have owed local banks VND4.675 trillion at annual rate of 15 per cent.
Thanh said most of the companies are finding hard to export cashew nuts amid the world financial crisis worsening, adding that the banks should extend their loan by three months to June this year.
“If the companies access the government assistance, they will buy raw cashew from local farmers at VND10,000 a kilogram at least,” Thanh said, adding that the companies buy 450,000 tons of raw cashew a year for processing 100,000 tons of nuts.
Thanh warned that cashew nut export price will drop by US$1,000 a ton from 2008 to US$4,500 a ton this year.
In 2008, Vietnam exported 167,000 tons of cashew nuts worth US$920 million. (VOV)
Vietnamese
