Cassava exports face fierce competition from Thailand

It is forecast that in the last months of this year, exports of cassava and cassava products from Vietnam to China will face fierce competition from Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

Illustrative photo: Source: Internet

According to the Department of Agro-product Processing and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), by the end of August, the export volume of cassava and cassava products was estimated at 1.6 million tons, equivalent to US$608 million, down 6.7 percent in volume and 4.1 percent in value over the same period in 2018.

China continued to be the largest export market in the first eight months of the year, accounting for 88.5 percent of Vietnam's export value of cassava and cassava products.

However, remarkably, the exports of cassava and cassava products to this market in the first seven months was only US$1.2 billion, equivalent to 466,300 tons, down 4.1 percent in volume and 9.6 percent in value compared to the same period in 2018.

The Department of Agro-product Processing and Market Development said that the decline was because China increased imports of this item from Laos and Cambodia.

According to the International Trade Center (ITC), in the first half of this year, China’s imports of cassava and cassava products from Cambodia increased by 74.5 percent and Laos by 246.6 percent over the same period last year.

In addition, the strict regulations on labelling, packaging and information on Vietnamese cassava starch products negatively affected Vietnam's exports.

However, the Department of Agro-product Processing and Market Development said the exports of cassava and cassava products will show signs of prosperity again due to the scarcity of supply when the cassava productivity in the Central Highlands is expected to plunge by 50 percent. In addition, drought and disease are expected to reduce Thailand's output by 20% in the 2019-2020 crop.

In addition, Cambodia's cassava output is forecast to decline by 20 percent in the 2019-2020 crop; inventories at Chinese enterprises are almost zero and alcohol imports from the US decreased due to high import duties (45 percent).