The Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) has called for commercial banks
to lower interest rates for local cashew nut exporters in a bid to
revamp the industry and increase competitiveness.
Radio The Voice
of Vietnam (VOV) on July 1 quoted Vinacas Vice Chairman Dang Hoang
Giang as saying that since 2006 Vietnam had held the largest global
market share of cashews.
At present, however, the industry is
operating at only 50% of capacity, he said, adding that it is also
overly dependent on imports which increase costs, putting immense
pressure on profits and cash flow.
“Additionally, the industry is
suffering from small scale of production, and lack of cash due to
difficulties in accessing bank loans,” Giang said.
In the first half of 2014, Vietnam’s exported 130,000 tonnes of cashews valued at 830 million USD.
Vietnam
aims to export 2.5 billion USD annually by 2020. To achieve the export
target of 2.5 billion USD, it is essential for business in the industry
to have ready access to cash provided by bank loans.
The
industry needs to be revamped and cash is needed to overcome the
obstacles and meet the growing demand for cashew production, purchase
and processing, he said.
Currently, the US, China and the Netherlands are the three largest cashew importers of Vietnam.
At present, about 300 Vietnamese firms have exported cashew to 100 countries and territories around the world.-VNA