HCMC – Many Vietnamese cashew nut exporters have written to the Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS) seeking help as they are worried about the risk of being swindled out of nearly 100 containers of cashew nuts.
VINACAS on March 8 sent an urgent dispatch to the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnam Trade Office in Italy, stating that it had received a petition from many Vietnamese cashew nut exporters, the local media reported.
Specifically, Vietnamese firms signed contracts with some customers in Italy through the Kim Hanh Viet Company to export nearly 100 containers of cashew nuts to Italy. Some cashew nut batches have been shipped to Italy, while others are on the way.
However, the exporters have been facing problems with their dossiers sent to Turkey’s banks. Accordingly, Swift codes were changed. When buyers’ banks received the documents from Vietnamese exporters, they argued that the Vietnamese firms were not their customers and returned the documents but did not provide the bill of lading numbers to Vietnamese banks.
As for the documents sent to Italian banks, they were copies, not original ones.
Vietnamese cashew nut enterprises could not locate the original documents, while anyone who had them could receive the cashew nuts.
The Vietnamese enterprises believed they had been swindled and worried about losing the cashew nut batches that had arrived in Italy.
Therefore, VINACAS asked the Vietnam Embassy and the Vietnam Trade Office in Italy to work with the authorities and shipping lines in Italy suggesting temporarily retaining the cashew nut containers sent to Italy and only allowing the circulation of these containers with the confirmation of their owners.
VINACAS has been collecting the relevant information from the enterprises concerned and will work with banks and shipping lines today, March 9.