Vietnam is the world’s leading producer, processor, and supplier of cashew nuts. Production and productivity have grown positively in recent times.
According to the General Department of Customs, in May 2024, Vietnam exported 67.71 thousand tons of cashew nuts, worth 370.34 million USD. This result was up 1.0% in volume and 3.3% in value compared to April 2024. In the first 5 months of 2024, Vietnam exported 285.1 thousand tons of cashew nuts, worth 1.53 billion USD, up 29.5% in volume and 18.5% in value over the same period last year.
Cashew has been one of the key export items in recent years.
In May 2024, Vietnam’s average export price of cashew nuts reached 5,469 USD/ton, up 2.2% compared to April 2024 but down 7.7% compared to May 2023. In the first 5 months of 2024, Vietnam’s average export price of cashew nuts was 5,387 USD/ton, down 8.4% over the same period last year.
Many countries around the world, including the UK, favor Vietnam’s cashew nuts. In the structure of Vietnam’s exports to the UK market, cashew is always one of the key commodities.
The UK does not grow cashew nuts, so all products are imported. In the book “Handbook of Exporting Cashew Nuts to the UK Market,” the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that salt-roasted cashew is the most consumed item in the category of nuts.
In the first five months of 2024, the export turnover of cashew nuts to the UK reached more than 8.1 million tons, with a value of more than 40.1 million USD. It was an increase of 13% in volume and 5.8% in value over the same period last year. This is also the 6th market among Vietnam’s cashew nut export markets.
Currently, Vietnam is the 4th largest cashew producer in the world.
According to data from the International Trade Center, in the first quarter of 2024, the UK imported 6.06 thousand tons of cashew, worth nearly 33.48 million USD. Over the same period last year, the figure increased by 20.4% in volume and 14.4% in value.
In the first quarter of 2024, the UK imported cashew nuts mainly from Vietnam, reaching over 5.55 thousand tons, worth nearly 30.47 million USD. This result was up 23.9% in volume and 19.8% in value over the same period last year. Vietnam’s share of total UK imports from the world increased from 89.06% in the first quarter of 2023 to 91.63% in the first quarter of 2024.
The UK nuts segment is expected to achieve annual growth of about 4.99% for the entire period 2023–2028. This is a good opportunity for Vietnam to expand its exports to this market.
To export cashew nuts to this market, some experts said that businesses need to improve competitiveness, strictly control production processes, strengthen the application of science and technology, and promote chain links from production-processing to export. In addition, they also need to choose market segments and distribution channels suitable to their products and size and focus on understanding market tastes and characteristics.
Currently, Vietnam is the 4th largest cashew producer in the world, after India, Ivory Coast, and Cambodia.
In 2024, the cashew industry set a target of export turnover of 3.7 billion USD and domestic cashew production of 372,000 tons, contributing to the export target of the whole agricultural industry of 54–55 billion USD.