| With most of the trade deals of the Trump administration finalized we hope and expect the market to set. As it looks the final import tariffs are known now, buyers can make a plan how to go forward. Quite some positions were covered until the end of the year in the US, and pushed to arrive before increasing tariffs, but last bits and pieces need to be covered for 2025 as well as first positions going into 2026. (keep in mind lead time and transit time of around 8-10 weeks at least) Due to the uncertainty in the market the Vietnamese processors were reluctant to take positions of RCN and therefore you can still find some stock of RCN in West Africa -mainly in Guinea Bissau-. On top of the uncertainty, also local purchases in Vietnam are taxed with an additional 5% which is also difficult for the processors buying RCN locally from the importers/buying kernels from smaller processing units. For most of the African countries (except Ivory Coast), import tariffs are lower than Vietnam and this can create nice opportunities for the African cashew processing industry. Purchasing interest is still a bit slow as buyers are waiting/hoping for better kernel prices. With all information known now we do not expect big price fluctuations nearby until the end of the year/Q1, 2026. We are able to offer African origins produced and processed kernels which are having a lower import tariff into US and if you are interested, feel free to send us your inquiry. |
