Cashew growers brace for fall in prices

Cashew nut prices seem to have fallen slightly at the end of harvest season compared to March this year, according to the cashew nut association in Kampong Thom province. Association president Oum Uon said prices for raw cashew nuts dropped from 7,000 riel ($1.75) per kilo in March to about 6,000 riel ($1.50) in May. Processed cashew nuts are selling from $15 to $17 per kilogramme, with prices higher in Cambodia than in export markets, he added. Mr Uon said only South Korea and Japan were the current export markets for his association. “The 20 members of my association could purchase up to about 15 tonnes of cashew nuts this year for sale domestically and for export,” Mr Uon said.“However, the demand of the Korean and Japanese markets is up to 100 tonnes per year.”

He said that there is high demand for processed cashew nut abroad, but his association does not have a budget to purchase cashews to store for processing to fill the demand. Say Mengly, director of Solar Phum Yeung and Cashew Plant at Kampong Thom province, described prices as “acceptable compared with previous year”. He added that the price was hike due to the high demand from Vietnam. He said that this year, he purchased to about 300 tonnes which is double amount compared to last year while the price was $2 per kilogram. “The price of cashew nuts was $2 per kilogramme in March, but now it was about $1.5 per kilogramme,” he said. “Historically the price of cashew nuts in Cambodia reaches $2 or $2.5 per kilogramme.”Mr Mengly said processed cashew nuts were selling for $11 per kilo, and he planned to purchase double the amount for the next harvest season if there is support from the private sector. He said his company has exported processed cashew nuts mostly to Netherlands, India, China and Vietnam.

Thiv Vanthy, director of the agriculture department in Kampong Thom, said the demand for cashew nuts is increasing year-on-year. He called on the private sector to enter into contracts with farmers to produce cashew nuts for export. “We always help promote new technology on growing, harvesting and storage to farmers,” Mr Vanthy said. “Our experts always come to help them.”  Mr Vanthy agreed that prices had dropped at the middle and end of the harvest season compared to the early harvest season but said the price was still good for farmers.

Source:http://www.khmertimeskh.com