HANOI, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's cashew nut exports in the first nine months of this year surged 26.6 percent on-year to nearly 2.6 billion U.S. dollars.
Specifically, Vietnam exported 260,000 tons of cashew nuts, up 1.1 percent, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Thursday.
The United States, the Netherlands and China continued to be the main importers of Vietnamese cashew nuts, which consumed 36.6 percent, 15.9 percent and 11.3 percent of the country's total export value, respectively.
Vietnam would make cashew export turnovers of 3 billion U.S. dollars this year, the Vietnam Cashew Association said, noting that the figure was a target earlier set for 2020. Last year, the country exported 347,000 tons of cashew nuts worth over 2.8 billion U.S. dollars.
Vietnam's cashew-growing area dropped to 290,000 hectares in 2015 from 440,000 hectares in 2007, according to the ministry. In 2016, the area increased by 5,600 hectares.
