Binh Phuoc – The Cashew Capital Of Vietnam Is Registered Under Geographical Indication Protection

Binh Phuoc, a southeast region of Vietnam, is the cashew capital of the country that has been recently acknowledged granting its famous cashew nuts as Geographical Indication registration, by the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam.

In the 18^th Century Cashew plants originated from Brazil and were immigrated to Vietnam. It was then officially registered into Bình Phước’s agricultural portfolio in 1975, since then it has been planted in large numbers and consequently, became a poverty eradicator plant for the farmers in Vietnam. This province has 75,000 households whose main income comes from cashew.

On 13^th March 2018, the National Office of Intellectual Property of granted Geographical Indication registration certificate No. 00066 for the famous Bình Phước cashew nut. Bình Phước Provincial People’s Committee is the organization in charge of managing this GI.

The geographical indication of Bình Phuoc cashew nut includes:

1. Raw cashew nuts: Raw cashew nuts of Bình Phuoc are firm. The body of the nut is 14,5mm – 18mm thick. Their bottom is larger with a hard surface. They are smooth and shiny. Upon shaking they produce no or little sound. Per nut weights, 5-6 grams, and the number of nuts per kg are not more than 200.
2. Cashew Kernels: They are consistently white or slightly yellow, the kernels are straight, swollen from both sides, the thickness is between 10,6 mm – 13,1 mm and the surface is smooth and shiny. It contains the natural scent of cashew. Unsaturated fat content is above 23% in Bình Phuoc cashew kernels.
3. Roasted and salted cashew nuts: These nuts are the kernel of raw cashew nut, with or without the inner skin, heat-treated by roasting and using salt as an additive.

The quality and scent of Bình Phuoc cashew are preserved due to the suitable weather and the place. Due to its rich qualities and specific type of cultivation, it’s in demand across the globe and thus is exported to 25 nations.

Vietnam has been the world’s largest cashew nut exporter for 11 consecutive years, accounting for 42 percent of the world’s total cashew nut export volume and 27.5% of the world total cashew nut producing volume in the year 2016. Nigeria stands second in the line with the highest Cashew nuts producing countries in the world.

According to Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas), Vietnam exported around 360,000 tonnes of cashews having a value of US$3 billion, with the US being the largest import market (accounting for 35 percent of Việtnam’s total cashew export volume), followed by the EU and the UK (25 percent) and China (18 percent).

The Government further plans to make Bình Phước the country’s main cashew-growing area by expanding the area under the crop to 200,000ha by 2020 and building a national brand for the nut. The grant of certificate by the National Office of Intellectual Property to Bình Phuoc Province for the production of special cashews has been a strong step towards creating a national brand for cashews and increase export of these cashews to the markets leading to the economic growth of the country.

Author: Ms. Deepika Sharma, Sr. Patent Associate at Khurana & Khurana, Advocates and IP Attorneys. In case of any queries please contact/write back to us at [email protected].