The main export markets of Vietnamese cashew nuts are the US, EU countries, and China. Despite being maintained well, both quantity and export turnover is strongly reduced.
The cashew sector has repeatedly lowered the target of export turnover. (Photo: Internet)
EXPORTS TO MAJOR MARKETS DECLINED
According to the statistics of the General Department of Customs, from the beginning of the year to November 15, 2022, the cashew sector has exported 447,897 tonnes of cashew nuts of all kinds, worth 2.7 billion USD. The figure declines by 11.31% in quantity and 15.56% in turnover compared to the same period last year.
In the first 10 months of 2022, cashew nut exports to the US – the largest market reached 119,391 tonnes, worth 700,289 million USD, down 19.87% in quantity and 20.47% in value compared to the same period in 2021.
China is the second-largest market after the US. In the last 10 months, cashew nut exports to this market reached 59,871 tonnes, worth 356.18 million USD, down 12.46% in quantity and 29.22% in turnover compared to the same period last year.
The Dutch market ranks third place. Exports of cashew nuts to this market in the last 10 months reached 45,228 tonnes, worth 246.211 million USD, down 22.38% in quantity and 22.92% in value compared to the same period last year.
The German market ranks fourth with an export quantity in the last 10 months reaching 14,813 tonnes, worth 91.268 million USD, down 14.38% in quantity and 16.29% in value compared to the same period last year.
At the seminar “Discussing solutions to promote Vietnam’s exports to EVFTA and CPTPP markets in the new context”, organized by the Export-Import Department – Ministry of Industry and Trade in cooperation with the Department of Industry and Trade of Tien Giang province, Mr. Dang Hoang Giang – General Secretary of Vietnam Cashew Association said that: In the first 11 months of 2022, the quantity of cashew nut exports and raw cashew nuts imported to Vietnam decreased significantly compared to the same period in 2021.
“At the beginning, the association proposed a plan to export 3.8 billion USD, however, in the first quarter of 2022, it was adjusted to 3.2 billion USD. By this time, cashew export is impossible to achieve the target of 3.2 billion USD compared to the plan,” Mr. Dang Hoang Giang said.
RAW CASHEW IMPORTS DECLINED SLIGHTLY COMPARED TO 2021
By November 15, 2022, cashew enterprises imported about 1.8 million tonnes of raw cashew nuts, worth 2.5 billion USD.
Currently, Vietnam is still the leading country in raw cashew nut imports globally. The main import markets include Côte d ‘Ivoire, West African countries. and East African countries. It is expected that Vietnam will import over 1.9 million tonnes of raw cashew nuts by 2022, a slight decrease compared to 2021.
According to the General Secretary of Vinacas, during the COVID-19 pandemic, cashew nut exports have been very stagnant. After that, cashew exports are affected by the Russian-Ukrainian war, and according to the forecast of the Global Coordination Council (GCC), this may last until the end of 2022 and even until 2023. Production activities as well as the global cashew supply chain will encounter many difficulties due to the following reasons:
Firstly, governments are tightly controlling credit, cash flow, fiscal policies, and inflation globally. This is one of the issues that countries with export economies are very concerned about.
Secondly, the Chinese government still applies the “zero COVID” policy so the market has not been opened, and we do not know when China will fully reopen.
Thirdly, the war between Russia and Ukraine since 2021 has not shown any signs of stopping, affecting the international economy, political situation, and high inflation. These cause countries to issue credit tightening policies, exchange rate fluctuations make consumption decrease, etc.
“These issues relate to the factors that increase the production and processing costs of cashew enterprises, causing a lot of difficulties in production and business activities, including cashew production. It is forecast that the growth of the cashew sector will be significantly reduced as global cashew consumption continues to decline, and the market for cashew raw materials will face many challenges in the coming time, ” Mr. Giang said.
Vietnam is still the leading country in raw cashew nut imports globally. (Photo: Internet)
NOT MAKING GOOD USE OF THE EVFTA AND CPTPP FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS
Commenting on the overview of the cashew export market in the past time for taking advantage of the opportunities of mechanism and policy from EVFTA and CPTPP agreements, Mr. Giang said: After the time of implementing EVFTA and CPTPP, cashew exports to countries in the bloc have a slight increase, but the quantity of direct exports of deep processed products into high-end markets such as the UK, France, and Germany is low.
For example, the Netherlands imports a huge quantity of cashew nuts from Vietnam, then countries such as Germany and the UK import from the Netherlands.
“According to the statistics of the International Trade Centre (ITC), Vietnam is not a country with a dominant share of exports to the UK, France, and Germany markets but the Netherlands. This is very absurd when in fact these cashew nuts are from Vietnam, ” the General Secretary of Vinacas said.
Facing this issue, Vinacas proposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade support enterprises to make good use of FTAs, and bring agricultural products including cashew nuts into premium markets to reduce the number of cashew nuts through the intermediate markets.
Secondly, the majority of foreign importers and partners in the CPTPP and EVFTA blocs considered Vietnamese cashew nuts exported in the pre-processed form, while for specialized techniques, processed cashew nuts, silk peel, vacuum dried and packaged are the final products that can be consumed, so export to these markets is still low.
Secondly, most importers and foreign partners in the CPTPP and EVFTA blocs assess that Vietnamese cashew nuts are exported in preliminary form. Meanwhile, in terms of specialized techniques, cashew nuts have been processed, vacuum-dried, and packaged are final products for consumption. Therefore, exports to these markets remain low.
Thirdly, enterprises have not made good use of the opportunities to expand exports to other potential markets in the bloc. They still export to traditional markets, even to transit markets such as Singapore or the Netherlands because it is quite easy, and delivery costs are also low. That’s why exports currently are mainly through intermediation./.