Cashew, also known as cashew nut, with the scientific name Anacardium occidentale, is a perennial industrial crop belonging to the Mango family (Anacardiaceae). This tree originates from northeastern Brazil, where it is called Caju or Cajueiro in Portuguese. Today, it is cultivated in tropical climate regions primarily for its edible cashew nuts. Additionally, it provides valuable by-products such as cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL).
Cashew is a tropical, evergreen tree (green all year round).
– Trunk: The tree grows to about 5-10 meters tall (some sources state 3-9 meters), with a short trunk and long branches.
– Roots: Large, strong, with a taproot and many fibrous roots, growing deep and spreading widely in the soil beneath the canopy.
– Leaves: Simple, entire, obovate, alternately arranged, with short petioles.
– Flowers: Small, white, growing in panicles, with a mild fragrance.
– Fruit: Consists of two distinguishable parts:
+ False fruit: The edible part. The false fruit is 10-12 cm long, 4-8 cm in diameter. This part is actually the developed peduncle. It comes in various colors: red, purple, yellow, etc.
+ True fruit (containing the cashew nut): This is the cashew nut with the shell. The true nut is the edible kernel inside, containing edible oil. It is a type of dry fruit, indehiscent, kidney-shaped, 2-3 cm long, weighing 5-9g, with a hard, gray outer shell, with a concave surface, and the peduncle swells into a pear or apple shape, in red, yellow, or white colors. Therefore, people often have the impression that the swollen peduncle is the fruit, and the actual fruit attached to it is the nut, hence the name “cashew apple” (meaning the nut appears outside the fruit).
Many people mistakenly believe that the cashew tree (cashew) is a gymnosperm, but cashew is actually angiosperm.
– Cashew kernel (inside the true fruit): Kidney-shaped, containing edible oil – this is the most valuable part of the cashew tree.
Cashew, also known as cashew apple, originates from northeastern Brazil. It was introduced to Asia and Africa between 1560 and 1565 after European colonial empires discovered the Americas. Nowadays, this tree has become an industrial crop developed in tropical climate regions across the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia for its edible nuts. In Vietnam, the cashew tree was introduced in the 1980s. It was then selected as a multi-purpose industrial crop to green barren lands and hills. It is widely cultivated in the southeastern provinces, Central Highlands, and South Central Coast regions such as Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Binh Thuan, Lam Dong, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, etc.
Since 2006, Vietnam has become the world’s leading exporter of cashew nuts and ranks third in terms of cashew cultivation area, after India and the Ivory Coast.
In summary, 100g of cashew kernel contains 45g of lipids, 26g of carbohydrates, 21g of protein (more than peanuts), 2.5% minerals, and a variety of vitamins such as A1, B1, B2, B6, PP, and E. The cashew apple (the swollen peduncle) makes up 10% of the total weight of the fruit, with the kernel accounting for 20% of the true fruit’s weight. The cashew apple contains 85-90% water, 7-13% carbohydrates, 0.7-0.9% protein, and is rich in vitamins, especially vitamin C (9 times more than in sweet oranges), 0.2% minerals, and 0.1% lipids.
Vietnam is the largest exporter of cashew nuts in the world.
2018 was a challenging year for the cashew industry: the global socio-economic situation was complicated, the US-China trade war, and after a period of impressive growth from 2011-2017, the cashew industry experienced a price adjustment. However, with the concerted effort of the entire sector, Vietnam continued to be the world’s leading processor and exporter of cashew kernels with a processing volume of 1.65 million tons of raw cashews, exporting 391 thousand tons of cashew kernels, reaching an export turnover of 3.52 billion USD excluding by-products (an increase of 7.8% in volume but a decrease of 3% in value compared to 2017). Vietnamese cashews were exported to over 90 countries and territories worldwide, maintaining a market share of over 60% of the total global export value of cashew kernels (approximately 5.7 billion USD), retaining the number one position in the world in processing and exporting cashew kernels. Cashew nuts are expected to retain their top position among Vietnam’s key agricultural export products, ranking above other key agricultural exports (fruits and vegetables, coffee, rice, pepper) in 2018. In terms of cashew production, despite improvements in the 2017-2018 season, Vietnam’s total production only met about 28% of the processing export demand, with the remainder imported from abroad.
Currently, there are many different cashew varieties grown in Vietnam, but mainly five major varieties. These varieties typically produce clusters of 5 to 10 fruits. The primary color of the fruit is yellow. However, the kernel ratio, nut size, and yield vary relatively.
Variety ES-04 (kernel ratio: 27.5%; nut size: 173 nuts/kg; yield: 55-65 kg/tree/year).
Variety EK-24 (kernel ratio: 28%; nut size: 120 nuts/kg; yield: 35-45 kg/tree/year).
Variety BĐ-01 (kernel ratio: 27%; nut size: 165 nuts/kg; yield: 45-55 kg/tree/year).
Variety KP-11 (kernel ratio: 27.5%; nut size: 150 nuts/kg; yield: 45-55 kg/tree/year).
Variety KP-12 (kernel ratio: 27%; nut size: 140 nuts/kg; yield: 55-65 kg/tree/year).
Authentic Binh Phuoc cashews are often type A, known as the best cashews in the world and are affectionately named “luxury nuts” by experts. Binh Phuoc cashews are of size W240, meaning 240 nuts per pound. Compared to A variety cashews, Binh Phuoc’s A variety is smaller but denser. When eaten, they are aromatic and have a more buttery taste. A variety of cashews are usually larger, but their quality cannot compare to Binh Phuoc cashews.
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