Agricultural products are one of Vietnam’s strengths in the international market. According to the General Department of Customs, Vietnam’s exports of cassava and cassava products in October reached over 176,000 tons with a value of over 76 million USD. This marks a significant increase of 45.7% in volume and 34% in value compared to the last month.
Specifically, the export of cassava alone had a significant increase of 239% in volume and 208% in value, reaching over 24,000 tons, worth more than 6 million USD in October.
In 10 months, this export of this item has reached over 2.09 million tons, valued at over 955 million USD, a decrease of 12.7% in quantity and 7% in value compared to the same period in 2023.
Cassava brings high economic value.
In terms of the market, China continues to be the largest importer of cassava from Vietnam, with over 1.93 million tons., worth over 873 million USD. This is a decrease of 11.6% in volume and 6% in value compared to the same period last year. Prices have increased by 6% compared to the same period in 2023, averaging 452 USD/ton.
Exporting enterprises reported that Vietnam’s cassava starch is highly favored in China, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival and year-end celebrations. However, competition remains fierce with low-cost rivals, and corn starch is also replacing part of cassava starch. In addition to Vietnam and Thailand, China has increased purchases from Laos, Cambodia, and Brazil, while reducing imports from Indonesia.
Taiwan (China) ranks second with over 40,000 tons, worth over 22 million USD, an increase of 2.5% in volume and 8% in value. The average import price reached 542 USD/ton, up 6%.
South Korea is the third-largest market, with over 37,000 tons, worth more than 11.8 million USD, down 61% in volume and 66% in value. Average price is 316 USD/ton, down 14%.
Cassava has many uses in industrial processing, animal feed, and food. Cassava roots can be eaten fresh or processed into animal feed, dried cassava slices, cassava starch, and others.
Currently, Vietnam has about 140 cassava starch processing factories, with a total designed capacity of 13.4 million tons of fresh cassava per year. The actual total capacity every year is about 9.3 million tons. Vietnam is the second-largest cassava exporter in the world after Thailand, with annual turnover of over one billion USD in the past five years.
Vietnam has about 530,000 hectares of cassava, with a production of over 10 million tons each year. However, the inventory of cassava slices by enterprises in the 2023-2024 season is very low, only about 60% of the volume in the 2022-2023 season.