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In a bid to wean out the exporting of uncooked cashews, which permits different nations to achieve extra income by promoting processed nuts, the federal government has been strongly pushing for funding in processing services throughout the nation to help the manufacturing chain.
Cambodia has huge ambitions to grow to be the biggest cashew producer on this planet however at the moment, amid an absence of processing services, the nation has exported as much as 90% of 1.1 million tonnes of uncooked cashew nuts yearly to neighbouring nations, primarily Vietnam.
The federal government’s Nationwide Coverage on Cashew 2022–2027 is searching for to extend manufacturing, enhance high quality, and develop the marketplace for Cambodian cashews each domestically and internationally.
The cashew nut trade within the Kingdom encompasses over 650,000 hectares of cultivation space, with latest efforts to develop and enhance the standard of the crop.
Amid this push, at the very least two firms have set a goal to export processed cashews this 12 months to spice up the Kingdom’s financial system.
The Cambodian-owned “Handcrafted Cashew Nuts Stung Treng” (HCST) in Stung Treng province mentioned it is going to course of as much as 6,000 tonnes of cashew this 12 months and subsequent 12 months.
The corporate plans to export to China, Japan, and the Netherlands this 12 months whereas rising its capital from $20,000 in 2021 to just about $1 million with help from a improvement company, to spice up the federal government efforts to grow to be a number one nation within the cashew trade.
HCST proprietor Soeun Veasoth mentioned in December, his firm had lately exported the primary 5 tonnes of the ultimate processed “M23” cashew nuts to Hong Kong after testing the samples efficiently.
He mentioned the samples have been additionally despatched to Turkey, Germany, France, the UK, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Taiwan and China.
Veasoth mentioned his firm will export each semi-processed and ultimate merchandise to the worldwide markets, saying it has signed agreements with South Korea and Japan.
“We can even export them (in 2024) to the Netherlands,” he mentioned.
Veasoth’s spouse Muth Chakrya, the corporate founder mentioned HCST had been getting ready to put in a warehouse within the US earlier than promoting to that market.
HCST employed a complete of 45 employees each full-time and part-time on the manufacturing unit and workplace in Phnom Penh, of whom 80% are girls.
“Cambodia has only a few processed cashew nut producers, which can not benefit from the worldwide market demand,” she mentioned. “Really, the cashew nut has an enormous market however we’re missing manufacturing strategies and capital funding,” she mentioned.
With the help from German improvement company GIZ and different companions, Chakrya mentioned she is going to improve her capital to just about $1 million.
“For 2024 and 2025, we plan to course of as much as 6,000 tonnes of cashew nuts per 12 months whereas increasing our manufacturing services,” she mentioned. “We started our enterprise with round $20,000 capital and acquired solely two tonnes of uncooked materials earlier than.”
“I consider our product can compete with different nations by way of high quality though we have now much less amount to this point,” she added.
HCST prime representatives have been within the delegation of the Cashew Nut Affiliation of Cambodia (CAC) which attended the 2023 World Cashew Convention (WCC) which was held in February final 12 months in Dubai, United Arab Emirates the place over 500 delegates from 35 nations attended.
The Kingdom will host the 2024 World Cashew Convention (WCC) in February in Siem Reap province and greater than 500 to 600 insiders from the cashew trade worldwide are anticipated to attend, in line with CAC vice-president Suy Kokthean.
Final week, Minister of Commerce Cham Nimul additionally met with a delegation of the Cambodia Cashew Federation (CCF) to debate work progress and challenges of their preparation to host the tenth WCC in addition to strengthening cooperation within the implementation of the Nationwide Coverage on Cashew 2022-2027.
The convention will present a chance for the organisation and native buyers to showcase the potential of Cambodian cashews to a worldwide viewers.
Positioned within the Siem Bouk district of Stung Treng province, HCST was established in 2021 with a small facility earlier than being expanded in 2022 right into a medium-sized manufacturing unit.
The corporate equipped each semi-final (cashew kernels with or with out testa) and ultimate cashew nuts with flavours, nuts, and dried fruits, cashew snacks and cashew drinks.
Every cashew nut was faraway from contemporary cashew apple that are supplied by native farmers within the province and different close by provinces.
The corporate is dedicated to supplying discerning clients around the globe with high-quality cashews that safe good livelihoods for the roasters and contract farmers in small distant communities.
HCST promotes environmentally pleasant cashew farming and high quality cashew manufacturing. Photo voltaic vitality has been put in on the processing unit for price and vitality effectivity, in addition to decreasing Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission.
Inn Laihout, founder and Managing Director of “Chey Sambo Cashew Nut Processing Handicraft” in Kampong Thom province mentioned her firm plans to develop its services, rising customary manufacturing and goals to export processed cashews to Canada, South Korea, Japan and Thailand.
The corporate collected cashews from greater than 100 farming households who plant the crop on greater than 700 hectares of land within the province.
This 12 months, it plans to develop the processing facility and improve manufacturing, focusing on to export at the very least 1,500 tonnes of processed cashew nuts to worldwide markets yearly from this 12 months.
“My dream is to comprehensively export our dried cashew nut to worldwide markets, just like the EU and US,” she mentioned.
Nevertheless, the EU market is a problem for Cambodian merchandise.
In an interview throughout a press tour to Kampong Thom, Kratie and Stung Treng province, that are the principle cashew nut manufacturing areas, Bryan Fornari, the EU delegation’s head of cooperation, mentioned the EU market is all the time prepared to just accept Cambodian dried fruit merchandise so long as they meet the proper “requirements and necessities”.
“It’s not an instantaneous entry, as a result of you could have to have the ability to meet these requirements, notably the environmental and social requirements to indicate the place the merchandise come from, and to have the ability to show how they’re compliant with meals security necessities.”
He thought-about the method of with the ability to export to the EU as a “lengthy journey”, not solely involving the work of buyers but in addition coverage work and added funding within the agricultural techniques that the federal government must introduce to make sure all the necessities are met.
The common value of dried cashew nuts is $1,658 per tonne. In October, dried cashew nuts have been fetching $1,900 per tonne, in line with CAC.
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Secretary of State Toch Bunhour mentioned though cashew manufacturing has achieved optimistic outcomes and made important progress, it nonetheless faces some main challenges.
He mentioned the challenges embody the low manufacturing yields and financial effectivity, human assets and a restricted funds for analysis and switch of latest manufacturing applied sciences and improvements, lack of infrastructure to help manufacturing and processing, excessive manufacturing prices, and irregular fluctuations in market costs.
“Cambodia is now exporting uncooked cashew nuts to neighbouring nations at decrease costs than anticipated,” he mentioned.
“The Ministry has examined what advantages Cambodia will obtain in trade for home processing for export, rising worth costs and creating jobs for native staff,” he added.
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