The cashew was introduced into Vietnam in the 19th century. It was originally grown in home gardens as a shade tree. Cashew has been recognized as an industrial crop since about 10 years ago. Soil and climatic conditions in Quang Nam - Da Nang province and further to the South are considered suitable for cashew production. In 1980, the area under cashew occupied only 30,000 ha. It has since gone up to 250,000 ha by 1996. The total production in 1996 was 122,070 tons with an export value of US$122,070 million for cashew kernel. At present, many provinces in the South including Dong Nai, Song Be, Tay Ninh and Binh Thuan are having large extents of cashew plantations in production.