Vietnam exported over 140,000 tonnes of cashew in the first five months of this year, raking in more than 1.39 billion USD. The Ministry of Industry and Trade reported the figures showed a rise of more than 21 percent in volume and over 25 percent in value year-on-year. As of the end of 2017, Vietnam was home to more than 337,000 hectares of cashew. There are more than 465 cashew processing firms with total designed capacity of more than 1.4 million tonnes per year. However, nearly 70 percent are in small scale. Vietnamese cashew is present in more than 90 countries and territories. Vietnam has set up a cashew processing industry, creating jobs in the farming and processing sectors for nearly 1 million people. The cashew industry has targeted 300,000 tonnes of cashew exports at a value of 3 billion USD this year.-VNA