The workshop on bilateral cooperation in the cashew industry on December 19-20 (Photo: VNA) Maputo (VNA) – Mozambique wants to learn fromVietnam experience in developing the cashew industry, Director of theMozambique National Cashew Institute (INCAJU) IlidioAfonso Jose Bande said at arecent workshop.
The workshop on bilateral cooperation in thecashew industry was held on December 19-20 by the Vietnamese Embassy inMozambique, INCAJU, and Mozambique’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Securityand Cashew Industry Association (AICAJU).
It also drew representatives from AICAJU memberbusinesses, cashew growing provinces such as Gaza, Nampula, Zambezia and CaboDelgado, along with Vietnamese entrepreneurs.
The INCAJU Director said cashew plays animportant role in Mozambique’s agricultural development and food securitystrategy. He expressed admiration at the considerable development of Vietnam’scashew industry.
Mozambique wants Vietnam to transfer technologyand help train personnel in the field, he said, calling on Vietnamesebusinesses to grow and invest in cashew processing lines to help his countryboost exports.
Briefing participants about Vietnam’s cashewindustry, Vietnamese Ambassador to Mozambique Nguyen Van Trung emphasised thatafter only more than 15 years, Vietnam has become the No. 1 cashew nut exporterin the world with lots of experience and advanced techniques in planting,harvesting and processing cashew.
More and more Vietnamese enterprises areinterested in the cashew industry in Mozambique and seek partnership andinvestment opportunities there, he noted.
He asked Vietnamese firms to point out obstaclesto their business in the African nation and asked local authorised agencies totackle those problems and facilitate their operations, thereby contributing tothe local cashew industry’s expansion.
During the time of the Portuguese colonialism,Mozambique was the biggest cashew grower and exporter in Africa with an outputof over 200,000 tonnes per year between 1973 and 1975.
Its Government has approved a master plan forthe cashew industry development until 2020, aiming to turn cashew into one ofthe key exports in the near future.
However, the country is facing certaindifficulties as a lack of modern planting and processing technologies andcashew products’ low quality. Its annual cashew output now is just about100,000 tonnes with productivity of under 1 tonnes per hectare. Less than 50percent of the output is shipped abroad.
During the workshop, Vietnamese and Mozambiquecashew companies discussed the local legal framework for raw cashew shipment,cooperation in cashew planting, and investment in processing.
Participants also visited some cashew factoriesand had a working session with Mozambique’s Ministry of Industry and Trade tosolve issues facing Vietnamese firms in exporting raw cashew to Vietnam.-VNA
VNA
