Vietnam is estimated to reap cashew export earnings of 359 million U.S. dollars in the first nine months of this year, a year-on-year decrease of 1.5 percent, despite its higher export volume, according to the Vietnam Cashew Association Friday.

In the period, the country is set to export 90,000 tons of the product, mainly to China, the United States, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, England and Russia, up 17.4 percent over the same period last year.

Vietnam is estimated to earn some 400 million dollars from exporting cashew nuts this year, down from 486 million dollars last year, said the association.

The country, which had 350,000 hectares of cashew trees in 2005, plans to increase the cashew acreage to 450,000 hectares and export revenue of 700 million dollars by 2010.

It shipped abroad 103,000 tons of nuts valued at 486 million dollars in 2005, said the association.

Source: Xinhua