Vietnam has the advantage in agricultural products such as fruits, wood, or spices when they bring in billions of USD each year. Notably, Vietnam also owns a billion-dollar product, cassava.
Currently, Vietnam has more than 40 provinces and cities growing cassava, concentrated in 5 key areas including the Northern Midlands and Mountains, the North Central, the South Central Coast, the Central Highlands, and the Southeast, with an area of about 520,000–550,000 ha. The productivity is around 19-20 tons/ha, and the output is over 10 million tons of fresh cassava.
Regarding the export situation, according to the General Department of Customs, the export of cassava and cassava products in August 2024 reached more than 191,000 tons with a value of more than 86 million USD. This result was down 12.4% in volume and 17.8% in value compared to the last month.
Vietnam’s cassava exports ranks second in the world.
In 8 months, Vietnam has earned more than 822 million USD from cassava exports, with an output of more than 1.7 million tons. Although the volume decreased by 3.8%, the value increased by 7% over the same period in 2023.
In terms of market, China remained the market that favored Vietnam’s cassava the most, with the output reaching more than 1.65 tons, worth more than 75 million USD. This figure was down 2% in volume but up 9% in value over the same period. The average export price was 454 USD/ton, up 12% over the same period last year.
Korea ranked second with more than 36,000 tons, worth more than 11 million USD, down 54% in volume and 62% in value. Prices decreased by 17% from the last year, reaching 312 USD/ton.
Taiwan (China) is the third-largest export market with nearly 34,000 tons, worth more than 18 million USD, up 5.5% in volume and 15% in value. The export price also recorded an increase of 9%, reaching 550 USD/ton.
Together with Thailand, Vietnam now dominates the global export supply with a turnover of more than 1.3 billion USD in 2023. However, experts said that Vietnam’s export of cassava and cassava products is highly dependent on the risky Chinese market.
The biggest challenge in the Chinese market today is that the demand of the Chinese for this product is declining due to cheaper corn flour prices compared to cassava.
Cassava has many uses in industrial processing, animal feed, and food.
Businesses’s cassava slice stock in the 2023-2024 season is very low, estimated at only 60% of the 2022-2023 season. The reason may be due to high input prices, low consumption demand, and low output prices, causing great risks for businesses when storing goods in warehouses.