W52 Cashew Update: Vietnam Stood as the Fourth-Largest Producer in the 202/23 Season and Surging Demand of Vietnamese Cashews from China

Vietnam Stood as the World's Fourth-Largest Cashew Nut Producer in 2022/23 Season

According to the International Nuts and Dried Fruits Council (INC), Vietnam is the world's fourth-largest cashew nut producer, with 350 thousand metric tons (mt) in the 2022/23 season. This makes up approximately 7% of the global output, one-third of the leading country, Ivory Coast. Furthermore, Vietnam has been exporting an average of 393 thousand mt of cashew kernels over the past five years, accounting for 63% of the global export market. The General Department of Customs has estimated that Vietnam's cashew export output for the first 11 months of 2023 is about 582 thousand mt, demonstrating a 23.1% year-on-year (YoY) increase over the same period in 2022. Cambodia is the largest supplier of raw cashew nuts to Vietnam, with a proportion of about 30% of the total input, followed by Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Nigeria. In addition, the United States (US) is Vietnam's primary export market, contributing to almost 25% of its total exports in the first three quarters of 2023.

However, since the start of 2019 until Nov-23, there has been a considerable decrease in the prices of cashew kernel exports and raw materials. The costs of importing raw cashews have dropped significantly from USD 1,500/mt to USD 1,000/mt. Furthermore, the export price of cashew kernels has decreased by more than USD 3,000/mt. Despite increased orders from Europe, the US, and China, 2024 is expected to be a challenging year for the industry. The relatively high prices of raw materials and processing costs have created difficulties. Furthermore, the trend towards green production has caused problems in supply as planting areas continue to shrink.

Growing Demand for Vietnamese Cashews in China

Vietnam’s cashew exports in Nov-23 reached 64.15 thousand mt, with an export value of USD 352 million. This presented a decrease of 0.3% in volume and 1.6% in value compared to Oct-23. Notably, the imports from China increased sharply. In the first 11 months of 2023, China exported 98.96 thousand mt of cashew nuts with an export value of USD 602 million, a sharp increase of 42% YoY in volume and 48% YoY in value over the same period in 2022. Given the limitation of China's cashew planting area and low yield, the demand will maintain an upward trend in the next season.