The Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) is developing a project to build an international brand for its products to boost exports amid the global economic downturn, the Voice of Vietnam reported, citing the Vinacas president Nguyen Duc Thanh.
Addressing a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on March 6, Thanh pointed to the fact that without an internationally-recognized brand, the export value of the Vietnamese cashews remains low.
He said domestic businesses have signed contracts to ship cashew nuts abroad priced at US$3-US$4/kg while the actual selling price at U.S. supermarkets is US$13-US$14/kg.
“If Vietnamese cashew trees have the brand, their export value will increase so as to benefit processors and farmers,” said Mr Thanh.
He said that Vinacas will submit to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) a plan under which it will host international conferences to promote the image of Vietnamese cashew trees. It will also pay more attention to increasing the quality of cashews in large cashew growing provinces such as Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai.
Mr Thanh also called on the Government to help cashew businesses get easier access to bank loans. He welcomed the Government’s 4-percent-interest-rate subsidy program for businesses in financial difficulties, but said that cashew businesses still find it hard to access to low interest rate loans.
Under the program, the Government only prioritizes businesses that have charter capital of less than VND20 billion and employ less than 500 workers, meanwhile, cashew businesses employ many manual workers.
“Without easier access to bank loans, a large number of our workers will be made redundant,” said Mr Thanh.
Vietnam exported 167,000 tons of cashew nuts last year, earning US$920 million, on-year increase of 41 per cent in value and 10 per cent in volume, according to Vinacas. Its key importers include the US, China, the Netherlands, Russia, the Middle East and Thailand.
Vietnam now has more than 421,000 hectares under cashew cultivation, accounting for 4.6 per cent of total agricultural land area, but contributing 10 per cent to total farm produce export revenue.
Some 456,000 households have grown cashew trees, which generated in more than VND5 trillion annually. (VOV, Countryside Today)
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