Cashew firms temporarily halt African importsVietnamese importers have temporarily stopped buying raw cashew from Africa due to a surge in prices, according to the Viet Nam Cashew Association (Vinacas). In the first two months of this year raw cashew prices have increased to $2,000 per tonne, even to $2,100 in Ivory Coast, he said. He said last year due to a reduction in domestic cashew output, the industry imported over 1.3 million tonnes for processing for export, the highest ever. Domestic cashew output this year is forecast to be higher than last year at 400,000 tonnes compared to 250,000 tonnes last year. Firms would face losses if they buy raw cashew at such high prices to fulfil the target export of $4 billion this year, he added.