Tanzania: Farmers Urge Cashwenut Board to Open Agro-Input Shops

The leadership of the Cashewnut Board of Tanzania (CBT) has been asked to expand its scope of services including opening shops for selling agro-inputs in a move aimed at empowering farmers to acquire insecticides for spraying their cashew trees on time. The appeal was made by farmers from Madangwa and Mandawa wards in Ruangwa, Lindi Region, during the auctioning of cashews in Chiuta Village and Mandawa Ward in Ruangwa District Council.

Making the request on behalf of fellow farmers, Mr Nandewa Yusufu said the absence of agro-input shops forced them to walk long hours looking for inputs, which were sometimes not enough because of the big number of cashew trees on their farms. He said besides the inputs not being easily accessible, the stock of inputs sent was sold at a high price. A farmer from Chiuta Village, Mr Mohamedi Muwa, said the situation had caused low cashew yields in the current harvesting season. "The insecticides brought by the government last year were insufficient and the dealers were selling inputs at higher prices contrary to the government's indicative prices," said Mr Muwa.

He added that during the farming season, farmers were often forced to purchase the inputs at higher prices outside their areas. Responding, CBT deputy chairman Edgal Maokola Majogo promised to present the request for input shops to responsible authorities, urging firms that purchased cashews to adhere to conditions put in place including making payments on time to ensure farmers benefit from their cash.

Mr Majogo also called upon executives of primary societies to desist from mixing money obtained from the previous auction and the future auctions as by doing so, he said, it was contravening the procedure tailored by the relevant authority.

In the auction that took place on Monday, October 23, over 2.7 tonnes of cashews and 224 kilos of the product were bought from Nachingwea warehouses in Lindi Region, whereby the highest price of the crop was Sh3,875 and the lowest at Sh3,860.

Source:http://allafrica.com/

Mozambique aims to exceed pre-independence production of cashew nuts

Mozambique is expected to produce 200,000 tonnes of cashew nuts per year in the short term, said Prime Minister Agostinho Carlos do Rosário, who backed up his statement with investments being made in the cash crop.

The prime minister, who recalled that Mozambique had already exceeded that level of production before independence in 1975, said that Nampula is among the country’s provinces to produce the most cashews, with 60,000 tonnes or almost half of the current production of 137,000 tonnes.

Rosário was speaking at the Nassuruma’s intensive cashew production field in Meconta district as part of his working visit to Nampula from Thursday to Saturday last week, according to Mozambican news agency AIM.

The Nassuruma nursery, which belongs to the Institute of Cashew Promotion (Incaju), produces cashew tree seedlings, and in the current

Rosário also visited Alfa-Agricultura, a South African company whose owners spent US$8.6 million on production of cashew nuts, vegetables and fruit on a plot of 1,080 hectares. (macauhub)

Source:https://macauhub.com.mo

Cashew sales fall 20% this Diwali season

Sales hurt by increased imports of kernels, higher raw nut prices and confusion over taxation Local cashew processors have seen a nearly 20 per cent fall in sales this Diwali season from last year, hurt by increased imports of kernels, higher raw nut prices and confusion over taxation. "There has been a spike in the import of cashew kernels.

Though import carries a duty of 45 per cent, cheaper rates (abroad) have led to its rise," said RK Bhoodes, chairman of the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India.

Kernels are currently imported at Rs 300­400 per kg, in both whole and broken forms. "It is profitable as the selling price is higher in India," Bhoodes said. More imports are happening in broken cashews which are largely absorbed by the confectionary industry, he added.

In India, retail cashew prices have moved up around 10 per cent in the past to Rs 800-820 per kg now. Impleyear to mentation of goods and services tax had also hit the traders early on, though the situation has improved since.

GST on cashew was initially fixed at 12 per cent, compared with a 5 per cent tax levied on the commodity before the new system came into effect on July 1.

This created a confusion in the market, leading to a delay in stocking by traders. GST on cashew was subsequently brought down to 5 per cent on the request of the industry.

Also, traders are yet to move fully into the GST system, said K Prakash Rao, managing partner of Kalbavi Cashews. "While the overall sales lower than last year, the demand for premium quality nuts has not waned," Rao added.

Another reason for higher retail prices this year is the rise in the cost of imported raw nut, traders and processors said. Costly raw nuts caused a 20 per cent drop in their imports to 7.70 lakh tonnes in 2016-17.

The cashew industry has called for the scrapping of a 5 per cent duty charged on shipments from Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria, which account for a major share of imports.

"Our domestic production of around 7 lakh tonnes and a part of import go for processing for internal consumption. As sufficient nuts are not available, 40 per cent of the (processing) capacity is lying idle," Bhoodes said.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Vietnam's cashew exports up in first 9 months

Vietnam's cashew nut exports in the first nine months of this year surged 26.6 percent on-year to nearly 2.6 billion U.S. dollars.

Specifically, Vietnam exported 260,000 tons of cashew nuts, up 1.1 percent, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Thursday.

The United States, the Netherlands and China continued to be the main importers of Vietnamese cashew nuts, which consumed 36.6 percent, 15.9 percent and 11.3 percent of the country's total export value, respectively.

Vietnam would make cashew export turnovers of 3 billion U.S. dollars this year, the Vietnam Cashew Association said, noting that the figure was a target earlier set for 2020. Last year, the country exported 347,000 tons of cashew nuts worth over 2.8 billion U.S. dollars.

Vietnam's cashew-growing area dropped to 290,000 hectares in 2015 from 440,000 hectares in 2007, according to the ministry. In 2016, the area increased by 5,600 hectares.

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com

Germany Biggest Buyer of Iranian Pistachio

Germany was the main destination of Iran’s pistachio, as it imported 3,063 tons of pistachio worth $40 million from Iran, in the first five months of the current fiscal year (started March 21). Over 61% of Iran’s exported pistachios were dispatched to Germany, Iraq, Kazakhstan, the UAE, India, Spain and Russia, Trend News Agency reported. However, the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration’s official statistics indicate that Iranian pistachio exports’ value decreased by 40% to earn $198 million and the volume of exports also decreased by 45% to reach 19,000 tons during the five months, compared with the same period of last year.

Iran exported pistachio to 59 countries, including Yugoslavia, Jordan, Armenia, Argentina, Uzbekistan, Australia, Slovakia, South Africa, Afghanistan, Albania, United Kingdom, Ukraine, US, Italy, Bahrain, Brazil, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Taiwan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Libya, South Korea, Moldova, China, Romania, Japan, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Oman, France, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Canada, Kuwait, Lebanon, Poland, Lithuania, Malaysia, Egypt, Vietnam, Netherlands and Hong Kong. ISNA quoted Mahmoud Abtahi, chairman of the board of directors at the Iranian Pistachio Association, as saying that the amount of pistachio production in Iran in the last fiscal year halved to 180,000 tons, which is the main reason behind the decline in export this year.

Head of Iran Pistachio Association, Mohsen Jalalpour, said every year between 8,000 and 12,000 hectares of Iran’s pistachio orchards are lost because of water shortage and soil salinity.“Land under pistachio cultivation in Iran is currently close to 350,000 hectares while during the 2000s, the figure stood at more than 400,000 hectares,” he was quoted as saying by Eranico. Kerman Province in southeast Iran is the country’s biggest producer of pistachio. The province once accounted for 70% of Iran’s pistachio production, but now produces only 30% of all the pistachio grown in the country due to the severe water crisis.

“Pistachio is currently cultivated in 19 provinces across the country, all of which are more or less facing the same issues,” he said.Both Jalalpour and Abtahi estimate this year’s production to stand around 230,000 tons, of which Jalalpour expects some 150,000 tons worth $1.5 billion will be exported to register an 11% and 25% growth in weight and value respectively compared with last year when 135,000 tons worth around $1.2 billion were exported.According to Jalalpour, who is a former chairman of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Iran is the second biggest producer of pistachio after the US and top exporter of the commodity. Deputy Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Mojtaba Khosrowtaj said Iran supplies more than 50% of the world pistachio market.

Source:https://financialtribune.com

Vietnam remains world’s No 1 exporter of cashews

The country has been relying heavily on the world’s material market. If the material prices fluctuate, Vietnamese enterprises may fail to fulfill export contracts or deliver products on schedule, and their products may not meet requirements on food hygiene.

In 2016, Vietnam exported 347,000 tons of cashew nuts worth $2.84 billion, increasing by 5.6 percent in quantity and 18.4 percent in value compared with 2015. In that year, the world’s total cashew nut output was 3 million tons, while Vietnam imported 1.1 million tons.

In the first eight months of 2017, Vietnam exported 223,000 tons worth $2.2 billion, which represented the 1.1 percent decrease in volume, but the 24.9 percent increase in value compared with the same period of 2016. The average export price was $9,842.5 per ton in the first seven months, or 27.2 percent higher.

According to Vinacas, Vietnam plans to obtain $3 billion from cashew nut exports in 2017, or $160 million higher than 2016. Meanwhile, due to the bad weather, the output is modest, just 300,000 tons and the amount of cashew nuts for processing is 250,000 tons only.

As such, to fulfill the export plan, Vietnam would have to import 200,000 tons more in 2017 than the last year.

According to Nguyen Duc Thanh, chair of Vinacas, most markets which import processed cashew products from Vietnam set high requirements on quality and food hygiene. This means that Vietnamese processors need to be sure that the input materials have high quality. Therefore, Vinacas believes that Vietnam needs to expand the cashew growing area.

Do Ha Nam, chair of Intimex Group, said Vietnam is No 1 in the world in cashew nut processing technology and it has the best products in the world. Therefore, Vietnam needs to boost exports to earn more money. He thinks now is the right time for farmers to expand the cashew growing area again as raw cashew nuts now can go for good prices.

In 1996, Vietnam began importing raw cashew nuts from Africa. In 2016, Vietnam surpassed India to become the biggest cashew nut exporter. Vietnam’s products are consumed in more than 100 markets.

By the end of 2016, Vietnam had 300,000 hectares of cashew growing area, mostly in Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Ba Ria – Vung Tau. The raw material price increased from 10,000-12,000 per kilo some years ago to VND40,000 per kilo.

Source: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/

Vietnam:Cashew and paradox import raw materials for processing

As the world's largest exporter of cashew kernels, Vietnam annually imports over 1 million of the 1.4 million tonnes of raw cashew nut used for processing. Therefore, when the raw material market fluctuates, enterprises must incur such expenses as contract cancellation, late delivery, poor quality of raw materials, especially food hygiene and safety.

In 2016, Vietnam exported 347,000 tonnes of cashew nuts, 2.84 billion dollars, up 5.6% in volume and 18.4% in value compared to 2015. In this year, cashew production reached About 3 million tons, Vietnam has imported more than 1.1 million tons of raw cashew to export processing.

The industry has much more

In the first eight months of 2017, cashew nut exports were estimated at 223,000 tonnes and USD2.2 billion, down 1.1% in volume but up 24.9% in value over the same period last year. Exports in the first 7 months of 2017 reached USD 9,842.5 per ton, up 27.2% over the same period.

According to the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas), in 2017, the industry strives to achieve export turnover of $ 3 billion, an increase of $ 160 million compared to 2016. However, due to abnormal weather conditions, 300,000 tons and output for processing in 2017 is expected to be 250,000 tons. Thus, to meet the export target of $ 3 billion in 2017, imported materials will increase by 200,000 tonnes compared to 2016.

According to Nguyen Duc Thanh, chairman of Vinacas, most of Vietnam's cashew import markets have strict requirements on quality, food hygiene and safety. Besides investing in quality raw materials in the country, imported raw material must also pay attention to quality equally.

Therefore, in parallel with increasing import volume for export processing, in order to develop stably and sustainably, the industry should pay attention to restoring and increasing the area of ​​cashew cultivation in the country.

Mr. Do Ha Nam, Chairman of the Board of Directors, General Director of Intimex Group, said that cashew processing technology in Vietnam is the world leader and cashew nut also exceeds cashew nut exporters. very good. Therefore, businesses need to promote the import of raw materials for export processing to increase the value of products. This is the advantage and the trend is continuing, the high price of raw materials is a good opportunity for farmers to grow back area.

Build and develop a specialized farming area

In 1996, Vietnam imported raw cashew from Africa and by 2016, Vietnam surpassed India as the world's largest cashew nut exporter and has maintained its position so far.

Currently, the brand of Vietnam people have been used by consumers in more than 100 countries and territories, the output is always stable. However, the increasing demand of the market makes enterprises depend too much on imported raw materials while domestic raw materials do not increase but tend to decrease. In the face of this challenge, especially to exploit the advantage of an international brand name, businesses are forced to pass to secure the No. 1 global market.

To solve the problem of raw materials, not only enterprises but need the help of the State. By the end of 2016, the country has 300,000 ha of cashewnut, mainly in Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Ba Ria - Vung Tau. The issue is that the agricultural sector should pay more attention to the area of ​​cashewnut development is stable, because compared with the output output is quite uncertain, the price of cashew is always stable.

Previously, the purchase price of about 10-12 thousand VND / kg of raw cashew nuts, but now has increased from 35 to 40 thousand per kg, three times higher than before. The industry needs to grow at 1 million tons of material per year, thus ensuring long-term and sustainable production. Previously, cashew industry accounted for about 700,000 tons of products per year, now only about 300 thousand tons per year.

Therefore, it is necessary to study the development of high yielding cashew varieties and the construction of specialized areas. If Vietnam continues to import raw materials for processing, the net profit from export will not be high because it is processing.

"The policy of the State is to focus on building specialized cashew areas suitable for cashew trees in order to have stable and sustainable products. If you let the people spontaneously "now grow apricot trees down the price cut back," then the first person to suffer the first is the farmer. Products will not be stable, "said Nam.

Nguyen Huyen

Source: VNEconomy