According to statistics from Binh Phuoc Province’s Department of Industry and Trade, there are 1,416 cashew processing facilities in the province, including 33 medium-sized, 115 small-sized and 1,254 micro-sized enterprises. Cashew nut processing is a strength of Binh Phuoc Province; contributing about 30 percent to the province’s total export turnover each year. In 2023, Binh Phuoc’s total export value of cashew nut products reached more than US$1.18 billion.

Thanh Phu Industrial Cluster - photo: The People’s Committee of Binh Phuoc Province

Despite being known as a cashew nut processing “workshop,” cashew nut processing enterprises in Binh Phuoc are still operating spontaneously and have not been gathered in industrial parks or industrial clusters (IC) for proper management in terms of waste discharges into the environment.

Given the importance of the local cashew industry and to meet the increasingly high standard requirements of importers, Binh Phuoc has planned a system of ICs in order to expand production premises for cashew nut processing.

Accordingly, by 2030, the province will have 1,828 hectares of IC land, mainly distributed in districts of difficult economic conditions, such as Phuoc Long and Binh Long towns, Bu Gia Map, Loc Ninh, Dong Phu, Bu Dang districts. The province gives priorities to implementing feasible and effective projects to avoid wastes of land resources.

Secretary of the Binh Phuoc Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Manh Cuong emphasized, “The province is determined to develop ICs sustainably with no more than three ICs in each district, focusing on developing a number of specialized ICs. Licensed ICs and industrial parks will be given priority for site clearance to reduce the risk of lack of clean land fund.”

However, according to leaders of the Binh Phuoc Provincial People’s Committee, some planned locations of the province for the development of ICs have been suspended due to overlapping planning on exploitation and processing of minerals of the Government during the 2021-2030 period, with vision to 2050. Therefore, the province needs more new policies to attract investors in building IC infrastructure; and proposes mineral exploitation planning in accordance with the province’s IC development planning to avoid overlaps.