HANOI, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam exported 108,000 tonnes of cashew nuts in the first eight months of this year, earning 875 million U.S. dollars, which posted a decline of 12 percent in volume, but an increase of 30 percent in value, year-on-year, reported the Vietnam General Statistics Office (GSO) on Wednesday.

According to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas), the country's main importers were the United States, China, the Netherlands, Australia and the Britain. Despite economic difficulties, demands for nuts, including cashew, in these markets remained high.

However, in the first half, domestic enterprises had to import 120,730 tons of raw cashew nuts from Nigeria, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Indonesia and Cambodia. They also need another 200,000 tons for their processing in the first quarter of next year, said Vinacas.

Vietnam expected to export about 163,000 tons of cashew nuts in 2011, earning 1.32 billion U.S. dollars, down 17.6 percent in volume, but up 16 percent in value over last year, forecast the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

September 7, 2011

Source: Xinhua News