Vice Chairman of Dong Nai Cashew Association Nguyen Hoang Dat: Elevating the value of Vietnam's cashew capital

Dong Nai province currently has a total cashew growing area of over 176,000 hectares. The majority of which, over 148 thousand hectares, lies in the former Binh Phuoc province.

Vice Chairman of Dong Nai Cashew Association Nguyen Hoang Dat

According to Nguyen Hoang Dat, Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai Cashew Association, after the merger, Dong Nai has the opportunity to elevate Vietnam's cashew capital to a new height by leveraging many advantages such as expanding cultivation area,  increasing export proportion and improving quality of local cashew nuts. To maintain its leading position nationwide in cashew export, with support from provincial leaders, relevant departments and agencies, the Dong Nai Cashew Association will implement strategies to improve the quality of local raw materials, creating a close link between farmers, scientists, the State, and businesses; with a focus on ensuring raw materials meet export-standard production requirements.

The world's No. 1 cashew brand

Could you share a little about the Dong Nai cashew brand over the past years as well as in the current situation?

- Before the province’s merger, the former Binh Phuoc province was Vietnam's cashew capital with a growing area of over 148 thousand hectares, accounting for nearly 50% of the country's cashew export output. With the distinctive quality of cashew nuts, in 2018, cashew products from the former Binh Phuoc were granted geographical indications. This shows that cashew nuts from the former Binh Phuoc already established a foothold in the international market.

Building on its initial positions, the Dong Nai cashew industry became even stronger after the province’s merger with additional advantages in terms of growing area. In export and import of raw cashew nuts, businesses also have more opportunities as the new Dong Nai province has a synchronously developed seaport system and border customs, contributing to increasing the export turnover of raw cashew nuts in the locality.

Currently, products processed from Dong Nai cashew nuts are quite diverse. Many products meet OCOP (One Commune One Product Program) standards rated with 3-5 stars, ensuring export criteria. Especially, after being granted geographical indications by the province, OCOP-standard cashew products have created advantages in the market, easily convincing customers, and avoiding the current widespread situation of counterfeit and fake goods.

According to you, after the merger, what are the advantages and difficulties for the province's cashew industry?

- The former Dong Nai province has long been one of the leading provinces and cities nationwide in industrial development, attracting many investment projects in various fields. Especially, with the seaport system and other transportation advantages, after the provincial merger, the economic value of the new Dong Nai province will increase.

For the cashew industry, this will be an opportunity for people, businesses, and local governments at all levels to continue developing the area, increasing the processed cashew raw materials, and improving quality to continue asserting Vietnam's No. 1 cashew brand in the world and Dong Nai province's No. 1 cashew brand in Vietnam.

Dong Nai has a diverse distribution channel for goods, cashew businesses expect to receive preferential policies on capital and market development opportunities. Especially, its convenient transportation infrastructure creates conditions for businesses to connect and trade with international markets.

How has the cashew export and import situation in Vietnam in general, and in Dong Nai in particular, been recently, sir?”

- Vietnam is currently ranked No. 1 in the world for cashew export. On average, Vietnam exports 3-4 million tons annually with a total export value of over 4 billion USD, of which Dong Nai province, (mainly in the former Binh Phuoc) accounts for up to 50%.

Although during the harvest season, businesses have collected additional cashew nuts from Gia Lai, Dak Lak... this only meets their production needs for about 2 months. For the remaining months, the businesses have to import raw cashew nuts from Cambodia, African countries... for production and export.

During the process of importing raw cashew nuts, businesses encounter some difficulties and problems related to packaging to prove the origin of goods, even though the shipments meet the criteria for export and import declarations. However, thanks to the close attention of provincial leaders and functional agencies, difficulties have been resolved, creating favorable conditions for businesses to easily import and export raw cashew nuts.

Dong Nai province currently has over 1,400 cashew processing enterprises. Among them, about 10 are deep-processing enterprises that meet export criteria.

Enhancing the value of Dong Nai cashews

According to you, what limitations do businesses and farmers currently face in their production and business activities that need to be overcome?

- For a long time, most cashew processing enterprises have not paid attention to packaging, labeling, or registering food safety and hygiene standards. This is especially true for enterprises producing goods for domestic consumption.

Especially, recently, the state has begun to implement management policies for businesses in various fields, including tightening regulations on stamps, labels, and origin. I believe it is time for all businesses, big or small, to pay attention to this issue. Goods produced for the domestic market also need to meet criteria for labeling, production processes, and food safety certification.

Sorting cashew nuts at Ha My Co., Ltd. (Dong Phu commune, Dong Nai province). Photo: Truong Hien

What advices do you have for the cashew business community in Dong Nai province today?

- As we know, Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW of the Politburo on private economic development is a driving force that encourages business development. Therefore, businesses strongly hope that relevant agencies and units, in the spirit of Resolution 68, will support local businesses, reform administrative procedures, and help businesses succeed in production, business, and export.

For businesses and farmers in the cashew industry, I believe that there is a great need for closer coordination among farmers, the state, scientists, and businesses to ensure production processes, improve cashew quality, and together create a supply chain in the cashew industry. I hope that in the coming time, there will no longer be a situation where farmers replace cashew trees. In fact, the growing area of cashew trees needs to be increased to meet Vietnam's cashew export demand.

Currently, the prices of imported cashew nuts are not higher than those of domestic ones. However, the loss rate during the processing of imported cashews is lower than that of domestic cashews due to more stable preservation quality and ensuring production processes right from the farm. Meanwhile, Vietnamese cashews do not have a closed production process yet and do not ensure input quality for export processing enterprises.

Besides, some African countries are now producing cashew nuts by themselves, so they prioritize selecting the best raw cashew nuts for production in their own countries. Therefore, the raw cashew nuts imported into Vietnam have begun to show signs of declining quality. I hope that in the coming time, businesses and cashew farmers will maintain and increase the growing area of cashew, contributing to Vietnam’s cashew industry in maintaining its No. 1 position in the world.

Thank you, sir!

By: Ngoc Lien 

Translated by: Mai Nga – Thu Ha