Vietnam has recorded a surge in cashew nut exports to China despite a decline in shipments of many agricultural products to this neighbouring market.

A cashew nut processing factory in Binh Phuoc province 

A number of agricultural products have faced challenges in export to China this year as it has tightened control on product quality and cross-border trade.

However, cashew nut exports to China have been soaring, exceeding 58,100 tonnes worth 447.2 million USD in the first 10 months, respectively rising by over 58 percent and 36.3 percent, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

By the end of November, Vietnamese businesses had shipped more than 418,000 tonnes of cashew nut abroad for almost 3 billion USD, while this year’s targets are 450,000 tonnes and 3.5 billion USD.

The US was still the biggest importer of Vietnamese cashew nut, followed by China and the Netherlands.

Data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development show that the agriculture sector enjoyed a trade surplus of 8.8 billion USD in the 11 months. 

The country earned 37.3 billion USD from the export of farm produce and forestry and aquatic products in the reviewed period, a year-on-year increase of 3.6 percent. Meanwhile, 28.5 billion USD was spent on agro-forestry-fishery imports, down 0.7 percent.

China remained the largest buyer of agricultural products from Vietnam, accounting for 26.9 percent of the total exports. It was followed by the US, the EU, ASEAN, and Japan.