Maintaining the standing of cashew via value-added products

Increase the manufacturing of value-added products

According to experts, in the context of African countries promoting the development of cashew processing industries, the Vietnamese cashew industry must increase its competitiveness through high-quality products, value-added products, and other cashew-nut-derived products. Science and technology will continue to play an important role in Vietnam's cashew industry's future direction.

In recent years, several cashew sector businesses have made significant investments in technology, machinery, and equipment to develop value-added goods from cashew nuts. Some notable names include Hoang Son Food (salted cashews, cashew snacks, and corn), Thao Nguyen (salted cashews, sesame-coated cashew nuts, honey-coated cashew nuts, wasabi-flavored cashews), Dan D Pak (cashews in various flavors such as salted, unsalted, spicy, garlic, honey, salt and pepper, syrup), Huy Vân (salted roasted cashews, silk-skinned salted roasted cashews).

According to Mr.Vu Thai Son, Chairman of Bình Phước Cashew Association and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Long Son Group, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are helping to increase exports of value-added cashew goods. Previously, semi-processed cashew nuts from Vietnam shipped to many markets were tax-free, but value-added goods generated from cashew nuts were subject to import duties owing to protectionist policies in importing nations' domestic food processing businesses.

Since the FTAs went into effect, import tariffs on value-added goods developed from Vietnamese cashew nuts have been cut to zero percent. This is a great situation for the Vietnamese cashew sector to increase its export of value-added products, as demand for these items in the worldwide market grows.

Long Son Group is also a significant investor in technology, machinery, and equipment for the processing and export of high-quality value-added cashew nuts and cashew nut derivatives. In 2023, this company considerably boosted its exports of numerous value-added goods to the Chinese market, including salted cashews, chili garlic cashews, spiced cashews, sesame-coated cashews, honey-coated cashews, and so on.

Long Sơn has successfully marketed its high-quality value-added products and cashew nut derivatives to the Walmart grocery chain. This makes it the first and only cashew firm in Vietnam that directly supplies cashew nuts to Walmart, the world's largest retail system. Long Sơn's business strategy for 2024 focuses on processing high-quality value-added goods for supply to Walmart and other big supermarkets globally, as well as increasing exports.

In addition to value-added goods, several cashew enterprises have invested in machinery and equipment to produce cashew shell oil. This oil is utilized in a variety of sectors, including boiler fuel (which costs roughly 60% less than mazut oil), the production of wear-resistant and friction-resistant materials, as well as different paints, varnishes, and adhesives.

Vietnam's cashew shell oil is not only utilized locally, but also exported to countries such as China, South Korea, and Japan. Although there are no official numbers, it is believed that the yearly export of cashew shell oil generates hundreds of millions of dollars for businesses. Furthermore, using cashew shells to make cashew shell oil greatly reduces environmental pollution. Previously, cashew shells were often used as fuel or burnt, causing environmental pollution and threatening human health owing to the smoke containing toxic compounds generated during combustion.

Improving value and food safety with new technology

Anticipating the development trends of the Vietnamese cashew industry, in addition to the usual types of machinery and equipment for processing cashew nuts, such as sizing machines, cutting machines, shelling machines, cashew nut drying machines, coloring machines, packaging machines..., many companies specializing in manufacturing and supplying cashew processing machinery and equipment have intensified research and brought to the market various types of machinery and equipment.

Notable examples include Gia Loi Long An's fried cashew nut system, as well as Mekong Technology Investment and Development Company Limited's fried cashew nut and cashew shell oil production lines... Vietnamese firms' machinery and equipment continue to assist numerous cashew enterprises in successfully producing and exporting value-added goods, high-quality products, cashew shell oil... to other countries.

Furthermore, several innovative technologies that improve quality, food safety, and lower processing costs are being brought to the Vietnamese cashew sector and have already been successfully implemented in many cashew processing facilities.

One of the options drawing interest is AP Engineering Company Limited's organic fumigation system Oxylow. Ms. Cam Xuyen, an AP Engineering representative, claimed that Oxylow employs the air control concept to generate a very low oxygen atmosphere in order to eradicate insects at all stages of development (eggs, larvae, etc.) without the use of any pesticides.

As a result, cashew batches cleaned with this solution not only completely destroy moth eggs and larvae, preventing re-infestation, but also assure factory and customer safety. Oxylow also aids in moisture adjustment of the product during processing, which reduces drying time. Many significant organizations in the Vietnamese cashew sector, including Olam, Tan Long, and Hanfimex, have employed Oxylow's organic fumigation solution, improving food safety and cashew value for businesses.

Cattis, a new technology from AP Engineering that shortens the process of processing cashew nuts, is also gaining popularity and being used in numerous factories (including Olam, the top cashew exporter at the moment). This method reduces the time it takes to change raw cashews into finished cashew nuts from up to 6 days to 1 day.