With 1,416 processing facilities, Binh Phuoc province has the most vibrant cashew nut purchasing and processing market in the country. However, most of the cashew nuts produced by farmers do not directly reach enterprises.

Cashew nuts are purchased and sold through intermediaries, so farmers and cooperatives are under price squeezing when the weather is unfavorable, causing this year’s crop to decrease in both yield and quality.

It is not easy to dry cashews for trading

Ms. Trieu Thi Tuoi growing cashew in Phu Rieng district said that she has never seen any cashew crop with as much anxiety as this year. Not only bad harvest, cashew field owners also face another dilemma is the lack of workers to collect cashews.

Currently, cashew nuts are mainly collected manually, so the demand for labor is very large. Labor wages are calculated according to the collected volume. The field owner will pay the cashew collector with a starting price of 3,000 VND/kg; or paid on a daily basis from 250,000-300,000 VND/day.

The cashew harvest in Binh Phuoc faces another dilemma, which is the lack of workers to collect cashews

According to Ms. Tuoi, many farmers who are willing to pay more still meet difficulties to find workers. The reason is that this year’s cashew yield has decreased due to unseasonal rains. Many workers prefer to choose high yielding gardens.

With the bad harvest cashew fields, finding labor is even more difficult. Ms. Tuoi said, the price of green cashew nuts falling to only 22,000-25,000 VND/kg, after deducting costs, farmers only break even or make a loss.

After falling, cashew nuts can not be left on the ground for a long time. Because as long as it rains, cashews will sprout and will be considered abandoned.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quan Tich – Chairman of the Farmers’ Association of Phu Rieng district, selling dried cashews will get a better price. However, not every home can implement this solution.

Many farmers still grow cashews on a small scale. Before the crop, farmers have to advance capital from agents for production; At the end of the service, they will return the product.

Many farmers, due to limited financial resources, have to sell their green cashew right after harvesting to cover their lives and debts.

Limited finance, farmers have to sell their green cashew right after harvesting to cover their lives and debts

Mr. Tich said that creating a sustainable chain from planting, caring to processing and exporting cashew is not easy. The whole province has many processing facilities, but most of the cashew nuts have not directly reached the enterprises.

“Cashew nut trading is generally still through traders, but there is no stable purchasing point,” said Mr. Tich.

Mr. Ta Quang Huyen – Director of Hoang Son 1 Cashew Processing Joint Stock Company assessed that building a connection chain is not simple. There are many processing enterprises, but most of them are private, with many small-scale processing units. These units do not have the financial capacity to cooperate with farmers to develop raw material areas or to buy in chains.

In Bu Dang district, Hoang Son 1 is the leading company in processing and exporting cashew kernels. During the harvest season, Hoang Son 1 also organizes to buy from farmers or from collection points, but there is no formal contract for buying and selling cashews.

“Although it is not officially linked with farmers, the current cashew nut trading relationship is actually a natural link,” Mr. Huyen said.

Buying and selling clean cashew nuts is also not easy

Not only cashews of farmers, even organic cashews of cooperatives also face many difficulties in consumption. This year is the second crop year in a row that Bu Gia Map Agricultural Cooperative (Bu Gia Map district) has to accept to buy and sell cashews to the floating market.

Bu Gia Map Agricultural Cooperative was established under the direction of the Binh Phuoc provincial government, with the aim to support poor people to grow cashews locally. With 181 members, cashew cultivation area is nearly 800ha; The cooperative has focused on producing clean cashews since its establishment.

Previously, the cooperative’s cashew nuts were surveyed and audited by Viet Ha Cashew Processing Company (Binh Duong province) under the Organic standard to commit to buy product. In the 2020 crop, Viet Ha Company had to move its factory, could not re-audit the Organic standard, so it also temporarily stopped purchasing cashews from cooperative members.

Ms. Tran Thi Yen – Director of Bu Gia Map Cooperative is drying cashews. Photo IT

Ms. Tran Thi Yen – Director of Bu Gia Map Cooperative explained, when being audited as certified Organic, the output of cashew nuts was stable with the cashew nut purchase price higher than the market price of 1,000-1,500 VND/kg.

Last year, the partner had difficulty, could not properly perform the outsourcing contract with the cooperative, the cashew nut of the cooperative member was not sold at the best value. This year, the quality of cashew has decreased, the output of the cooperative is still unstable.

Ms. Yen said, due to erratic weather, the cashew kernels are empty, the percentage of cashew kernels recovered has decreased. This year, cashews ripened in series, falling in the ground because they could not be collected in time. Cashew nuts fall down, get wet with rain, making the color of cashew kernels not beautiful.

After a problem with Viet Ha, this year the cooperative registered for Organic certification with another unit, about 250ha.

“However, the quality of cashew nuts is difficult to meet the requirements, the cooperative has to postpone signing contracts; and encourage farmers to sell cashews to the floating market,” lamented Yen.

Bu Gia Map Agricultural Cooperative is one of four members of the Binh Phuoc Cashew Cooperatives Union. Among these 4 member cooperatives, only Phuoc Hung Cooperative and Dong Nai Cooperative are certified under the Organic and Fairtrade standards on the entire area of 738ha.

Cashew trees contribute to creat regular jobs for about 44,000 workers in Binh Phuoc

Mr. Vu Duc Bo – Director of Binh Phuoc Cashew Cooperatives Union said that when being certified under the Organic standard, the price of cashew nut will be stable, ensuring profits for farmers. The Cooperatives Union will support Bu Gia Map Agricultural Cooperative to carry out the necessary procedures to be certified as soon as possible. “Only then will the cooperative members not sell their cashews on the floating market,” said Mr. Bo.

With an area of ​​more than 138,000 hectares, Binh Phuoc cashew trees account for more than 46% of the country’s cashew area. Cashew trees contribute to creat regular jobs for about 44,000 workers.

According to Binh Phuoc Provincial Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Loi, building a connection chain through cooperation forms is necessary for the sustainable development of the cashew industry. During a recent visit to processing enterprises, cooperatives and cashew growers, the Secretary suggested the functional sectors to support and connect farmers to form raw material areas.