Vietnam exported 1.27 million tonnes of cassava and cassava-based products during the opening five months of the year, raking in US$436 million, according to figures released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Cassava exports skyrocket during five-month period

The figure represented a year-on-year increase of 20% in terms of volume and 7% in value.  

Indeed, the export price of cassava starch is expected to remain low as a result of a drop in demand from the Chinese market, while the export price of cassava chips is likely to increase over the short term due to increasing demand from the northern neighbour whilst domestic inventories gradually become low.

The average export price of cassava and cassava-based products throughout the reviewed period stood at an estimated US$342 per tonne, a decrease of 11% on-year.

Most notably, exports of cassava starch were estimated to be at 900,000 tonnes with a value of US$352 million, representing an increase of 6.6% in volume and a decline of 3.2% in value in comparison with the same period from last year.

The average export price of cassava starch fell by 9.2% to US$391.3 per tonne during May and June due to China’s consumption demand for the product decreasing slightly.

The Chinese market was able to successfully keep its place as the country’s main export destination during the first months of the year. The figures show that the total export volume of cassava and cassava-based products to this market during the first four months of the year reached 959,200 tonnes, with a total value of US$324.7 million, representing an annual rise of 15% in volume and 1.4% in terms of value.

Despite this, the country’s cassava chip exports to China during April suffered a sharp decrease by 22% to 54,300 tonnes compared to March as a result of the price of alcohol experiencing a downward trend caused by the weakening of global oil and alcohol prices.

Elsewhere, both Malaysia and Taiwan (China) have also increased imports of Vietnamese cassava and cassava-based products over the course of the four-month period.

With the novel coronavirus being largely brought under control, the country’s agricultural exports, especially cassava exports, are predicted to recover with Vietnam-China border gates reopening in June.