Managing a cashew material growing area of nearly 800 hectares in Binh Phuoc and neighboring areas, Gia Bao Group has teamed up with Green Journey to activate the Green Cashew project.

With the aim of helping the cashew industry become green and sustainable, Green Cashew focuses on helping cashew growers improve production and business capability. It cooperates with other parties to assess and measure carbon credits produced from cashew trees.

The formation of the green cashew factory in Binh Phuoc will develop the cashew industry but also contribute to the green transition of Vietnam’s agriculture sector.

Carbon credits are certificates that can be traded. They represent the right to emit an amount of CO2 or another amount of a CO2 equivalent. One carbon credit is equivalent to 1 ton of CO2 or 1 ton of CO2 equivalent.

The world’s carbon credit market has had a high growth rate.

In addition to forestry, agriculture can create carbon credits for sale. Experts said about 57 million carbon credits can be created each year from agricultural production. 

It is estimated that each cashew tree can absorb 400 kilograms of carbon during its entire life cycle. 

If cashew trees are grown with international standards, every 2.5 cashew trees can create one carbon credit.

On average, about 200 cashew trees can be grown on one hectare of land, which means that farmers would receive 80 credits for each hectare. 

Supposing that the unit carbon credit price is $5 per ton of carbon (Vietnam’s forestry sold 10.3 million carbon credits in 2023 at the price), the commercial value of carbon credits of the cashew industry would be tens of millions of credits.

The director of Binh Phuoc Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tran Van Phuong, said the province is implementing the program. There are 320,000 hectares of cashew growing areas in Vietnam, while Binh Phuoc is the "cashew metropolis" with 50 percent of total growing area in the province. 

Vietnam has for two decades led the world in cashew nut processing and exports. In 2023, it exported 644,000 tons of cashew nuts, worth $3.6 billion, up 24 percent in quantity and 18 percent in turnover compared with the year before.

Tam An