Vietnam: Vinacas advises better packaging for cashew exports

Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) has advised cashew exporters to improve packaging of shipments to China.

Cashew exporters were not using disinfectant paper and anti-moisture grains in containers being shipped to China, said Vinacas.

Previously, cashew exporters used anti-moisture grains to prevent humidity during transport, but when China tightened food safety measures it prohibited these measures because of health issues.

If Vietnamese cashew exporters do not improve packaging of their product, they stand to lose their largest market in China.

This year, Vietnamese exporters have signed contracts to export 300 containers to China at a pretty good price, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association.

At a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on February 26, Nguyen Van Chieu, deputy chairman of Vinacas, said enterprises shipped 18,479 tons abroad in January, worth US$109.7 million.

Delegates at the conference said farmers can enjoy a bumper crop in 2013 if the rainy season begins early. Farmers in many provinces have started to harvest cashew crops since early February.

China, the US and EU are the main importers of cashew products from Vietnam.

Vietnam imported 25,430 tons of raw cashews worth US$24.3 million in January, up 64.5 percent in volume over the same period last year, mostly from Cambodia, the Ivory Coast and some African countries.

Source: SGGP