Unique Noble Trading Co. Ltd. broke ground on a new cashew nut processing plant in Kampong Thom province on Tuesday as Cambodia continues to expand its multi-billion dollar industry.
Mr. Chea Van Chan, deputy governor of Kampong Thom province, said the new plant is a timely investment in line with the government’s policy to promote the cashew nut sector.
“The plant will make a significant contribution to improving cashew nut productivity and people’s livelihoods,” he said.
Ms. Pin Phirom, director general of Unique Noble, said the plant will process 30 tons of nuts per day and will create 200 to 400 jobs.
She said the plant will process cashew nuts and shelled cashew nuts into oil and agricultural fertilizer.
The plant is located in Salapo Pel village, Salatsa commune, Prasat Ballang district.
Cambodia’s cashew nut industry has seen significant growth, with production reaching 840,000 tons in the first 10 months of this year, up 26 percent from the same period last year.
About 790,000 tonnes of cashew nuts were exported to Vietnam for processing, earning more than $1 billion, up 31 percent.
The Cambodian Cashew Association is diversifying its export markets, with processed cashew nuts mostly exported to China, Japan and Europe.
Mr. Uon Siloth, president of the Cambodian Cashew Association, said the cashew industry is becoming an increasingly important part of Cambodia’s agriculture sector.
Cambodia has more than 580,000 hectares of land under cashew nuts.
The average yield is about 1.5 tonnes per hectare. In some areas, the association’s data shows that the figure is as high as 4 tonnes per hectare.
Kampong Thom province is poised to become Cambodia’s cashew production hub.
The government is supporting the industry through financing from the Rural and Agricultural Development Bank and the Small and Medium Enterprises Bank of Cambodia.
The world’s largest cashew producer is Ivory Coast in West Africa.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has predicted that Cambodia will become the world’s top cashew producer by 2030.
Cambodia overtook India as the second-largest producer earlier this year as climate change affected the country’s crop.
Under the government’s cashew industry policy for 2022-2027, $329 million will be invested in the sector to build infrastructure and improve processing capacity.
The government’s plan is to process more cashews in Cambodia to add value to the industry.
A new $12 million factory built by Singapore’s CSNC, Cambodia’s largest processing plant, will begin production in March.
The factory will be able to process 40 tonnes per day, or about 12,000 tonnes per year.
