Farmers Eye Lead in Processed Cashew Exports
A Cambodian Cashew Association report showed that in 2022, Cambodia exported 670,000 tonnes of fresh cashew nuts to the international market, valued at $1,077 million, a drop of 34.65 percent. Photo: Ministry of Agriculture
- By Teng Yalirozy
- March 11, 2023 11:55 AM
PHNOM PENH – Cashew farmers want Cambodia to become the leading exporter of processed cashew nuts, with Prime Minister Hun Sen hoping the country will become the world’s largest cashew producer.
Hun Sen expressed his hope during the 7th River Festival in Kampong Thom province on Mar. 9.
Heng Panha, a 70-hectare cashew plantation owner in Ratanakiri province, said Cambodia is already the leading fresh cashew nut exporter, but he wanted to see Cambodia being able to export processed nuts.
“With the remark from the Prime Minister and the enacted policy on cashew nuts, I hope that we can become the country that export processed cashews instead only exporting fresh nuts, increasing hope for farmers,” he said.
The National Policy on Cashew Nuts for 2022-2027 was enacted in January to increase production and value-added.
He said many cashew farmers sell their fresh cashews right after harvesting because they have nowhere to dry them in the sun. This means they get lower prices than dried cashew nuts.
Panha harvested 40 tonnes of cashew nuts on his plantation in 2022. He could sell 15 tonnes of fresh cashew nuts to traders, with one kilo costing 4,800 riel or about $1.20.
About 30 tonnes of his dried cashew nuts were exported to Vietnam at 5,300 riel or about $1.32 per kilogram.
He said Vietnam only wants dried cashew nuts for processing. Traders who buy fresh cashew nuts are mostly Vietnamese who will dry them and sell them to processing companies in Vietnam.
“It makes our farmers lose money because they cannot afford to dry fresh cashew nuts for direct export,” he said.
He explained that the price of the nuts is unstable according to the amount harvested.
“For cashew production to be successful, there should be many dried nuts and factories which can remove the cashew shells,” Panha said.
Nok Bunthorn, a cashew farmer in Kampong Thom province, said he only sells fresh cashew nuts to traders because he does not have space to dry his freshly harvested cashews.
On four hectares, Bunthon was able to harvest four tonnes in 2022.
“Traders at the Cambodia-Vietnam border buy our fresh nuts and dry the nuts themselves. However, Vietnamese companies want to directly buy dried nuts from us,” he said.
He said farmers are having a hard time preparing locations to dry nuts while they are also in need of money, forcing them to sell freshly harvested nuts to pay cultivation costs.
The Cambodian Cashew Association and the Vietnam Cashew Association have signed a memorandum of understanding on direct orders for raw cashew nuts to Vietnamese processing companies to reduce the role of brokers.
Cashew yields might drop
Vietnam, Cambodia’s biggest import market, wants to order a million tonnes of raw cashew nuts from Cambodia in 2023, but Cambodia says yields are declining due to the climate crisis.
Heng Panha said that in the first three months of this year, farmers had seen the plants struggle to sprout due to the unstable weather, causing worry that they might not meet the demand from Vietnam.
He said that last year, farmers could harvest abundant cashew nuts, but the quality was low due to excessive rain.
Nok Bunthorn also said sprouting was not good compared to last year. Factors might be the climate crisis, the soil quality and insects.
The Cambodian Cashew Association does not yet have a solution to the problem of climate change. However, expanding the cultivated area has been considered to improve the price and supply.
A Cambodian Cashew Association report showed that in 2022, Cambodia exported 670,000 tonnes of fresh cashew nuts to the international market, valued at $1,077 million, a drop of 34.65 percent. The largest importer of fresh cashews from Cambodia is Vietnam.
In 2019, Cambodia exported 600,000 tonnes of fresh cashews and 950,000 tonnes in 2020. In 2021, 1.1 million tonnes were exported.
Ninety-two percent of fresh cashews were exported to Vietnam and two percent to India. The rest was for domestic use. The main markets for processed cashew products are Europe and Japan.
