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According to preliminary statistics from the General Department of Customs, in the first month of 2024, cassava exports witnessed a record growth. Specifically, in January, cassava exports reached 76,118 tons with a value of over 19.9 million USD, an increase of 369.6% in quantity and a 340.8% increase compared to December 2023. At the same time, it increased by 30.9% in quantity and 36.4% compared to the same period in 2023.
So, cassava is the fastest-growing commodity in the first month of 2024.
The average export price reached 262 USD/ton, a decrease of 15 USD/ton compared to the previous month. Combined with the cassava and cassava products group, it earned over 195 million USD, an increase of 38.1% compared to the previous month.
China continues to maintain its position as Vietnam’s largest cassava importer. In January 2024, our country exported 401,945 tons of cassava to China and earned over 183 million USD, an increase of 48% in quantity and 38% in value compared to the previous month. China’s market share also increased from 91% in 2023 to 94% in the first month of 2024.
The average export price reached 457 USD/ton, a decrease of 6% compared to the previous month. In addition to the Chinese market, Vietnam also exports this product to other countries such as South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, and Pakistan.
A shortage of raw cassava is an important factor causing an increase in the price of fresh cassava in January. From the beginning of January until now, the price of raw cassava in the Central region gradually increased towards the North. A significant decrease in cassava production is also considered a reason for the increase in cassava prices.
According to the General Statistics Office, in 2023, the area of cassava in the whole country reached about 511.5 thousand hectares, a decrease of 18.8 thousand hectares compared to 2022. The estimated output reached 10.43 million tons of fresh tubers, a decrease of about 196.3 thousand tons compared to 2022.
China has increased its purchase of cassava starch and cassava chips mainly for the livestock and poultry feed processing industry. Vietnam is also a leading supplier of cassava and cassava products to China.
Information from the General Administration of Customs of China shows that in the 11 months of 2023, Vietnam was the second largest supplier of cassava chips to China with 700 thousand tons, worth 192 million USD, an increase of 30% in quantity and 21% in value compared to the same period in 2022. Vietnam’s cassava chip market share accounted for 12.71% in terms of quantity and 12.63% in terms of value in the total imports of cassava chips in China.
Tay Ninh province is the leading locality in terms of the number of cassava processing plants nationwide. Currently, there are 65 cassava processing plants in the province with a total capacity of 6.4 million tons of tubers per year.
The export value of cassava and cassava products increased from 0.958 billion USD in 2018 to nearly 1.5 billion USD in 2022. Vietnam is currently the world’s second largest cassava producer, after Thailand.
To increase productivity and output for cassava plants during the period of 2023-2028, the Vietnam Cassava Association has actively collaborated with the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) to develop a sustainable development roadmap for the cassava industry until 2030, with a vision until 2050, striving to develop the cassava industry towards enhancing sustainable value, with a processing rate after starch reaching 15%, and an export value of 2 billion USD per year.
The Vietnam Cassava Association has set a target to export cassava of 2 billion USD per year by 2028 and increase it to 2.5 billion USD per year by 2050.
