Cashew export prices continue to increase again

According to the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), in August, Vietnam's cashew nut export price reached an average of USD 6,326 per ton, up 2.6% compared to July 2024 and up 14.8% compared to August 2023. Thus, this is the fourth consecutive month that Vietnam's cashew nut export price has increased compared to the previous month and the third consecutive month that the cashew nut export price has increased compared to the same period in 2023.

Specifically, Vietnam's average cashew nut export price in July reached USD 6,168 per ton, up 2.7% compared to June 2024 and up 10.8% to July 2023. In June 2024, the average export price of cashew nuts in Vietnam reached USD 6,008 per ton, up 9.8% to May 2024 and up 4.8% to June 2023.

June is also the first month in a very long time that the average export price of cashew nuts in Vietnam returned to over USD 6,000 per ton. Previously, the last time the average export price reached over USD 6,000 per ton was September 2022.

The export price of cashew nuts has been increasing continuously in recent months, but because in the first 5 months of the year, the average export price of cashew nuts was always lower than the same period in 2023, so in the first 8 months, the average export price of cashew nuts still decreased by 0.9% compared to the same period last year.

In return, the amount of cashew nuts exported this year has grown quite well. In the first 8 months, businesses exported 486 thousand tons of cashew nuts, worth USD 2.77 billion, up 22.9% in volume and 21.8% in value over the same period last year.

Cashew nut exports from the beginning of the year until now have generally been quite favorable, as import demand has increased in most markets. In the first 8 months of 2024, Vietnam increased cashew nut exports to most traditional and potential markets, except for exports to Saudi Arabia, which decreased by 1.7% in volume, but still increased by 4.2% in value.

Cashew nut exports to some markets achieved high growth in the past 8 months such as China (up 43.5% in volume and 28.9% in value), the United Arab Emirates (up 38.5% in volume and 48.1% in value), Spain (up 33% in volume and 39.9% in value), the United States (up 29.3% in volume and 28.9% in value), Germany (up 23.5% in volume and 22.6% in value)... According to some cashew traders, cashew exports will continue to grow steadily in the last months of the year due to import demand for holidays and Tet.

One of the difficulties of the Vietnamese cashew industry this year is finding a source of raw cashew nuts that meets market demand. According to the Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS), in the past 8 months, cashew businesses have imported nearly 2 million tons of raw cashew nuts, with the largest supplier being Cambodia (762 thousand tons).

This year's cashew crop output in Cambodia is higher than last year, but about 70% of the nuts are large, so Vietnamese businesses lack small-sized commercial cashew nuts to meet the needs of many importers.

In contrast, raw cashew nuts from another leading supplier, Guinea-Bissau, are mostly small-sized. Bach Khanh Nhut, Vice President of VINACAS, said Guinea-Bissau has been one of the 5 largest African countries exporting raw cashew nuts to Vietnam for many years. In 2023, the Vietnamese cashew industry imported nearly 160 thousand tons of raw cashews from Guinea-Bissau, with a total value of more than USD 186 million. With the above import volume, Guinea-Bissau ranked 5th among the countries in the world exporting raw cashews to Vietnam in 2023.

Vietnamese cashew traders assess Guinea-Bissau's raw cashews as good quality, but the nuts are small. Although it is one of the 5 largest raw cashew exporters to Vietnam, the amount of Guinea-Bissau raw cashews accounts for nearly 6% of the total amount of imported raw cashews.

Due to the large size of the nuts, the price of commercial cashew nuts W180 (king size, equivalent to 170 - 180 nuts per pound) and W210 (large size, equivalent to 200 - 210 nuts per pound) is gradually decreasing and approaching the price of W240 (medium size, equivalent to 220 - 240 nuts per pound). However, the demand for large-sized cashew nuts is still low.

According to the General Department of Customs, in July 2024, Vietnam exported 66.87 thousand tons of cashew nuts, worth USD 412.44 million, up 6.8% in volume and 9.6% in value compared to June 2024, up 22% in volume and 35.1% in value compared to July 2023.

In the first 7 months of 2024, Vietnam exported 421.5 thousand tons of cashew nuts, worth USD 2.36 billion, up 25.8% in volume and 21.6% in value compared to last year.