The cashew nut export in January 2021 showed the signs of positive growth. Meanwhile, in 2021, the cashew industry is also forecasted to have a positive export prospect thanks to free trade agreements after the export value in 2020 decreased by 3% compared to 2019.

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In 2020, the average export price of cashew nut reached 6,238.5 USD/ton, decreased by 13.6% compared to 2019. The United States, China and the Netherlands still are the 3 largest cashew import markets of Vietnam. In 2020, Vietnam made up the market share of 30.9%, 15.9% and 12.1% of the total cashew nut export value, respectively.The Agro Processing and Market Development Authority (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that the export volume of cashew nuts in January 2021 was estimated at 45 thousand tons with the value of 268 million USD, increased by 78.2% in volume and 51.8% in value over the same period in 2020.

In addition, according to estimates of the Import and Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), the cashew nut exports in December 2020 reached 47 thousand tons, worth $280 million, increased by 2.3% in volume, but decreased by 0.6% in value compared to November 2020. Therefore, for the whole year of 2020, the cashew nut exports are estimated at 511 thousand tons, worth $3.19 billion, increased by 12.1% in volume but decreased by 3% in value compared to 2019.

In the domestic market, in January 2021, the raw cashew price fluctuated slightly. Particularly, the purchase price of dried raw cashew nuts in Binh Phuoc increased from 31,000VND/kg to 33,000VND/kg. In Dong Nai, the purchase price of dried raw cashew nuts were kept at 29,000 VND/kg.

According to the 2021 crop production plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the total cashew area of ​​the whole country in 2021 will be 297 thousand hectares (equivalent to 99.7% compared to 2020), the output of raw cashew will be 360 thousand tons, and the average yield will be 1.29 tons/ha.

The Agro Processing and Market Development Authority expects that the price of cashew kernels will tend to increase in the near future because the supply volume of cashew kernels in the country is not much while the purchase price of raw cashews is still high, so processors are very cautious in purchasing of raw cashews.

Besides, the cashew nut price forecast in 2021 is likely to recover as the price in 2020 has dropped to a low level. At the same time, the cashew exports will slow down in the first quarter of 2021 according to the cyclical factor. The United States and Europe countries will reduce their import volume because they had boosted the imports at the end of 2020. However, the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority said that the prospect of cashew nut exports in the whole year of 2021 will generally be positive thanks to free trade agreements.