Cambodia exported $543 million worth of raw cashew nuts in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 13 percent, according to a report from the Cashew Nut Association of Cambodia.
The source said the Kingdom exported 424,000 tonnes of its total production of 474,000 tonnes to Vietnam.
The association’s president, Uon Silot, said the commodity’s export value increased thanks to the growing demand in the international market. Some cashew nut-producing countries have been affected by unfavorable weather.
“The commodity price will likely continue to increase due to the El Nino impact on some cashew nut-producing countries in Asia and Africa,” he said.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, the Kingdom currently has about 700,000 hectares of cashew plantations in 10 provinces.
The Royal Government of Cambodia has set its sights on the future of the cashew nut industry with the launch of the National Cashew Policy 2022-2027. This comprehensive roadmap is designed to bolster three major strategic goals — production, processing, and exports.
According to the association’s president, local processing cashew nut productions have surged from 5 to 10 percent since the policy was launched.
Cambodia is one of the largest cashew nuts producing countries in the world, but only 10 percent of the commodity are processed domestically.
Cashew is among the Kingdom’s potential cash crops in addition to rice, rubber, cassava, palm oil, bananas, mangoes, longans, and pepper.AKP (khmertimeskh)
