Kampong Thom, February 12, 2026

The Cashew Nut Association of Cambodia (CAC) has held a comprehensive meeting with Khmer Agro Cashew (KAC) to address the urgent need for skilled labor at the company’s newly planted processing facility in Kandal province.

KAC is seeking to recruit more than 100 skilled workers, including mechanics, technicians, quality controllers (QC), and employees for the peeling stage of cashew processing. The company has requested support from key stakeholders to help meet its workforce demand as operations expand.

Silot Uon, chairman of CAC, praised KAC’s investment in Cambodia’s cashew processing industry, highlighting the country’s strong production potential. He emphasized that expanding domestic processing capacity would add value to locally grown cashew nuts and create new employment opportunities.

To help meet KAC’s labor needs, CAC has referred the responsibility of workforce training to the Polytechnique Institute of Kampong Thom (PIKT). The institute previously supplied skilled workers to the long-awaited Cashew Industrial Park (CIP) two years ago and is expected to play a similar role in supporting KAC’s recruitment efforts.

Earlier this week, CAC and PIKT also met with representatives from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to discuss workforce development in the rapidly growing cashew industry. The meeting was coordinated by the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training as part of a pre-fact-finding mission by ADB.

The mission aimed to better understand CAC’s ongoing efforts to support cashew farmers in improving farming techniques, adapting to climate change, addressing challenges faced by local processors, and enhancing export readiness. During the discussions, ADB introduced the Skill Development Fund (SDF) as a potential financing mechanism for vocational training programs. The bank encouraged CAC to work closely with PIKT to jointly develop training curricula that would attract and prepare more skilled workers for the planned expansion of CIP.

KAC, a Cambodian joint venture specializing in cashew processing, has a full production capacity of 16,000 metric tons of raw cashew nuts (RCN) per year. The company has signed farming contracts with six agricultural cooperatives in Kratie province to secure 6,000 metric tons of RCN for the current harvesting season. It is also seeking additional cooperatives in Kampong Thom province to ensure a stable supply.

This season, KAC has established a major collection hub in Kampong Thom and is seeking support from CAC and its network of collectors. Silot Uon pledged to facilitate transactions between the company and local producers, building on the outcomes of a business-to-business (B2B) event held in Kampong Thom in late August 2025. The event was partly sponsored by the project called Green Cashew of HEKS/EPER Cambodia.

KAC, CAC, and PIKT have agreed to hold further discussions to strengthen collaboration on workforce development for the cashew industry. The initiative aligns with the Royal Government’s policy to promote skilled labor development and enhance the competitiveness of Cambodia’s agro-processing sector.