Walter D'Souza, president of the Indian Cashew Association, and a delegation of cashew nut processors and exporters have visited southern Binh Duong province seeking opportunities for cooperation, said Nguyen Van Thoa, vice chairman of the Binh Phuoc People's Committee.

Binh Phuoc now has 195,000 ha of cashews, of which 170,000 ha have annually yielded more than 200,000 tonnes of nuts, representing 50 per cent of the country's total output.

However, the province's output of processed cashew nuts stands at 23,800 tonnes, accounting for only 8.25 per cent of the provincial GDP.

Only nine of Binh Phuoc's 127 cashew nut processing businesses meet the required conditions for production and export.

The remainder can only provide semi-processed cashew nuts for other processors.