Spend Matters welcomes this guest
post from Corrina Hutchings, market analyst at Mintec.
The cashew nut is increasing in
popularity as research continues to show the health benefits for consuming them
– as long as they are not salted or honey roasted! Raw cashews will not only
improve the taste of your curries or stir-fries, but will add extra protein and
rich nutrients, which are good for your heart, eyes and skin. Compared with
other nuts, cashews, like almonds, have low calories per nut. However, before
you rush out to stock up, bear in mind cashews are still relatively high in
calories compared with other food and you will only need a few. The recent
increase in prices, which are up 23% since the start of the year, may also put
you off.
The market is currently
experiencing the highest price in nearly five years, due to low supply from the
major growing regions, particularly Vietnam and West Africa. The combination of
severe droughts and heavy rains in these areas saw a reduction in both crop
yields and quality earlier in the year.Vietnam is the largest producer of
cashew nuts — responsible for 28% of world production. However, Vietnam also
imports shelled cashews, which are processed at large plants in the country and
re-exported. Consequently Vietnam accounts for 42% of the world’s processed
cashew nut exports. Many of the cashew nuts imported by Vietnam originate from
West Africa, which is still experiencing severe droughts that could also affect
next year’s crop.
Demand has also increased from
buyers looking to Vietnam, due to the high quality of their processing. Despite
the high prices, exports from the country are currently up 5% at 228,000 tonnes
since the start of 2016 when compared to the same period in 2015. Concerns over
the quality of the upcoming crops also means buyers are rushing to secure
current supplies.With cashew prices reaching such a high, you may be better
placed looking at the alternative healthier nut: the almond. Previously high
almond prices saw the popularity of the cashew nut increase. For nearly two and
half years, almonds traded at a premium to the cashew; however, prices are now
lower. Almond production in California for 2015/16 is estimated to have reached
1.9 billion pounds, due to severe droughts. Weather conditions for the 2016/17
season, however, have been more favorable. In addition, an increase in planting
area is expected to see the production rise to 2.1 billion pounds.If you’d like
to learn more about recent price movements across the nut market, you can do so
in our October Commodity Report, released on the Mintec e-store at the end of
October.
Source: https://spendmatters.com
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