Vietnamese cashew nuts dominate the German market

Vietnamese cashew nut imports to Germany decreased this year owing to the Covid-19 outbreak, but they continue to hold the lion's share of the significant market.

Vietnamese cashew nuts account for more than 57 percent of the market share in Germany. Photo: TL.

According to the International Trade Center (ITC), Germany imported a total of 45.2 thousand tons of cashew nuts globally in the first nine months of 2021, worth USD 324.43 million, down 9.5 percent in volume and 14.1 percent in value year on year.

Due to the complexity of the Covid-19 outbreak in Vietnam and the challenges associated with customs clearance, Germany imported fewer cashew nuts from January to September of this year.

Germany lowered its cashew nut imports from Vietnam in the first nine months of 2021 owing to the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, although the decline was still less than that of the Indian and Netherlands markets.

In the first nine months of 2021, Germany imported 28.23 thousand tons of cashew nuts from Vietnam, valued at USD 201.21 million, a decrease of 1.7 percent in volume and 7.0 percent in value over the same time the previous year.

However, Vietnam's market share of total German imports of cashew nuts climbed from 57.51 percent in the first nine months of 2020 to 62.46 percent in the first nine months of 2021. Due to its consistent supply and assured quality, Vietnam is the leading cashew nut supplier to the German market.

According to the Agency of Foreign Trade (Ministry of Industry and Trade), the picture of Vietnam's cashew exports to Germany will be positive in 2022 as a result of the EVFTA gain. Additionally, the increasing demand for German cashews will benefit the Vietnamese cashew business.

Germany's cashew nut consumption is expected to increase by an average of 4.1 percent between 2020 and 2025. The German cashew nut market is largely concentrated on the snack sector, with demand for cashews and broken nuts coming from the rapidly growing food industry. Cashews are mostly utilized as a salt-roasted snack in the German market.

Recently, cashew nuts have seen a spike in popularity in the culinary business. German customers are increasingly opting for cashews because, in addition to their health advantages, they are more affordable than other nuts such as almonds.

Germany is now the European Union's biggest cashew nut import market (EU). According to the European Statistics Office, Germany imports cashews at a rate of around 29% of the bloc's total volume and turnover.