8. World production and trade of cassava products

Contents - Previous - Next

Cassava is grown in many tropical countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Most statistics do not usually distinguish between sweet and bitter varieties; in some, sweet varieties are not included as they are commonly grown as a secondary crop for home consumption. The world production of cassava roots in 1973 (excluding China) is shown in Table 12. Brazil is the largest producer, but most of the crop is consumed locally and exports are only a small portion of the total output. The same pattern applies to other important producers, such as Nigeria, Indonesia, Zaire, India and Colombia. Cassava does not form an important part of the staple diet in Thailand, and that country is now the world's largest exporter of cassava products. In the last few years most of the important producers have greatly increased their production.

Surplus production of cassava products enters international trade in different forms, such as chips, broken dried roots, meal, flour and tapioca starch. Dried cassava roots and meal are used as raw material for compound animal feed, while cassava starch is used for industrial purposes; grocery tapioca is used solely for human consumption.

Exports

The principal markets for cassava products are in Europe - the European Economic Community being the most important for dried roots - and for cassava starch the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan. Although complete statistics of world trade in cassava products are not available, thus making it difficult to estimate the total quantity entering international trade, the import statistics of the EEC and the United States show a substantial increase in recent years, particularly for dried cassava roots.

Table 13 shows exports of cassava products in 1973 in comparison with the production of cassava roots in some of the major exporting countries, except Indonesia, for which figures were not available.

TABLE 12. - WORLD PRODUCTION OF CASSAVA ROOTS IN 1973 (IN THOUSAND TONS)

SOURCE: FAO, Production Yearbook 1974. Revised Series, Rome, 1975.

Dried cassava roots, however, are supplied to the European Economic Community countries mainly by a few exporting countries (see Table 14).

Imports

The following are the largest importers of cassava products:

1. United States. The present annual consumption of all starch products in the United States is about 3 million metric tons. Cassava starch comprises about 1.5 percent of all commercial starch consumed and is imported from many countries, but mainly Thailand and Brazil. The rest of the consumption is, however, almost all corn (maize) starch. The rising utilization of starches is the result of population growth' new applications of the starch and the growth of certain industries which use starch, particularly the paper industry.

TABLE 13. - EXPORTS OF CASSAVA PRODUCTS AND PRODUCTION OF ROOTS, 197'

TABLE 14. - MAJOR EXPORTERS OF CASSAVA ROOTS TO SOME MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY, 1973

Cassava starch enters free of duty and its importance on the U.S. market is dependent on its price relative to that of corn (maize) starch and potato starch.

TABLE 15. - IMPORTS OF CASSAVA STARCH BY SELECTED COUNTRTES, 1973

1 Re-exporters,
SOURCE: National trade statistics.

TABLE 16. - IMPORTS OF CASSAVA CHIPS AND MEAL OF SOME EEC COUNTRIES

SOURCE: National trade statistics.

2. United Kingdom. The United Kingdom's imports of cassava and sageo starches amount to about 2 500 tons per year and are used in food preparation rather than for industrial purposes.

3. Japan. Japan is potentially an important market for cassava starch because the price of locally produced starch is high and the traditional production of sweet potato and white potato starch is decreasing. The local production is about 800 000 tons a year of a national consumption of 1.3 million tons of starch. However, imports of cassava starch (56 000 tons in 1967) are now nonexistent owing to the competition of corn (maize) starch.

Japan is fast becoming an important new market for cassava chips and meal, as there has been an increasing, demand for raw material for the compound feedstuff industry. However, the general policy in the country is to import raw materials rather than finished products in order to encourage local industries. In addition, the Government imposes a quota system on imports and an import duty of 25 percent on all cassava products.

4. European Economic Community. The international demand for cassava products for animal feed is concentrated in western Europe and the European Economic Community, especially the Federal Republic of Germany. As these countries have the most developed compound animal feed industries, and as prices of feedgrains have been increasing, they are considered the major outlet for exporting countries of cassava products (Table 16).

Total consumption of animal feed is based on the number of livestock and the consumption per head of the livestock. Between 1965 and 1970 the number of livestock did not increase significantly in the major EEC countries, as shown in Table 17; however, the consumption per head has been continually increasing asa result of changes in feeding methods. The figures in Table 18 represent the rates of increase of compound feed consumption per animal between 1965 and 1970.

The figures in Table 18 reflect exactly the stages of development in the use of compound animal feedstuff. In the Netherlands, the most advanced country in this field, the rates of increase of compound feedstuff consumption per head are small and there is even a decline in some uses (pigs and poultry); however, in the Federal Republic of Germany, France and Italy the rates of increase are very high and will continue to be so until the consumption per head reaches the present level of consumption in the Netherlands.

TABLE 17. - ANNUAL RATE OF INCREASE IN NUMBER OF LIVESTOCK IN SOME EEC COUNTRIES, 1965 - 70

SOURCE: FAO, Production Yearbook, Rome, 1973.

TABLE 18. - ANNUAL RATE OF INCREASE OF COMPOUND FEED CONSUMPTION PER HEAD IN SOME EEC COUNTRIES, 1965 - 70

SOURCE: FAO, Production Yearbook, Rome, 1973.

Distribution and transport

Trade in cassava products is handled by shippers, importers and agents. Some importers are also agents who act on behalf of foreign suppliers and conduct their business on a commission basis in order to lessen the risks.

Freight rates for bulk pellets are much lower than those for chips in bulk and other products. During transport, especially on long voyages, deterioration caused by moulding, heating and sweating may be a problem.

Recommendations

The compound feedstuff industries require large quantities of cassava products. Because of the increasing competition in the production and marketing of these products, producing countries are advised to take the following recommendations into consideration:

1. As the economics of international trade require minimum quantities per shipment, exporters should ensure that regular quantities are available for year-round export.

2. Each importing country has a minimum quality standard for each product. It is therefore important that an exporting country establish a quality-control system to maintain the quality of its exported products. Once an abovestandard quality is maintained, the exporter will gain a good reputation and even receive a premium for his products.

3. Export prices must be based on world market prices. Exporters must always remain informed of price fluctuations and trends in the international market.

4. Bulk shipment is preferable to transport in bags. It is therefore advisable to have bulk-loading facilities in the ports of the exporting countries. These facilities can also be used for other agricultural or mineral products.

5. Exporters must have enough experience in international trade to deal with experienced and established importers. They can use the experience of suitable firms or agents in the importing countries to establish good trade relationships until they acquire the necessary knowledge.

Contents - Previous - Next