Vietnam’s ‘Gifts from Nature’ Achieve Unprecedented Milestone, Entering the ‘5 Billion USD Club’ for the First Time

Vietnam’s cashew industry has concluded 2025 with record-breaking figures, marking a new milestone in the history of agricultural exports. According to the latest data from the General Department of Customs, in December 2025 alone, cashew exports reached $466 million, a remarkable 29% increase compared to the same period last year. This impressive year-end surge contributed to a total annual export value of $5.2 billion, officially entering Vietnam’s agriculture into the prestigious “$5 billion club” for the first time.

This marks the second consecutive year that the cashew industry has set new records in export value. While 2024 saw cashew exports reach $4 billion for the first time, just one year later, the export value has increased by nearly $1 billion. In terms of volume, 2025 recorded 766,585 tons of exported cashews, a 5.7% increase in quantity and a 20.4% rise in value compared to 2024. Amidst a decline in rice exports, cashews have emerged as the third-largest agricultural export, following coffee ($8.9 billion) and fruits and vegetables ($8.56 billion).

A notable highlight in the 2025 export landscape is the significant shift in market structure. For the first time, China has surpassed the United States as the largest consumer of Vietnamese cashews, with an export value of $1.115 billion, nearly a 50% increase from the previous year. This growth is attributed to China’s economic recovery, rising demand for health-beneficial agricultural products, and Vietnamese businesses’ efforts to better meet Chinese partners’ requirements for quality, traceability, and logistics.

In contrast, cashew exports to the United States experienced a significant decline, dropping 24% in volume and 15% in value in 2025. The primary cause stems from uncertainties related to U.S. countervailing duties. Since April 2025, following the U.S. government’s announcement of plans to impose countervailing duties on trading partners, many importers halted purchases of Vietnamese cashews due to concerns over potential tax risks upon arrival. This cautious sentiment significantly impacted trade flows in the second half of the year.

Over the past decade, the United States has consistently been the largest market for Vietnamese cashews, typically accounting for over 20% of total exports, with this share reaching nearly 27% in 2024. Therefore, the slowdown in the U.S. market is expected to continue exerting considerable pressure on the cashew industry in the coming period, especially if trade barriers persist.

Despite achieving high export values, Vietnam’s cashew industry remains characterized by large-scale processing, heavily reliant on imported raw materials. In 2025, Vietnam spent approximately $4.5 billion to import over 2.9 million tons of raw cashews. After deducting import costs, the industry’s trade surplus reached over $700 million.

According to the Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS), these achievements are the result of a persistent transformation process spanning many years, shifting from an industry focused on social welfare to a billion-dollar export industry. Science and technology have played a pivotal role in this transformation. Since the national science and technology projects for automated shell separation machinery in 2010–2011, the cashew industry has gradually reduced its dependence on manual labor, increased productivity, and met the stringent quality standards of demanding markets like the EU and Japan. This foundation is crucial for Vietnam’s cashew industry to maintain its global leadership in the years to come.