Vietnamese cassava facing fierce competition with Thai cassava in Chinese market

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According to the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), since the beginning of July 2022, the price of fresh cassava has recorded insignificant fluctuations thanks to the faster delivery of cassava starch through the northern border gates to China.

Meanwhile, Vietnam's exports of cassava and cassava products have been growing as markets expand purchasing for animal feed processing, in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict causing global grain supply interruptions.

According to the General Department of Customs, in the first half of the year, Vietnam exported 1.73 million tons of cassava and cassava products, worth US$754.25 million, up 9% in volume and up 23.3% in value year-on-year. Vietnam exported to China 1.58 million tons, worth US$687.82 million, up 6.9% in volume and 21.5% in value year-on-year.

It is forecast that for the time being, the export of cassava and cassava products will continue to increase thanks to the high demand for food and continuous increase in price of animal feed due to the impact of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

In addition to the export situation of cassava and cassava products in general, the Import-Export Department said that cassava and cassava products of Vietnam are facing fierce competition with Thai products.

According to statistics from China Customs, in the first five months of 2022, China imported US$1.05 billion of cassava chips, up 45.2% year-on-year. Thailand, Vietnam and Laos are the three largest providers of cassava chips for China.

Specifically, between January and May, 2022, China imported cassava chips worth US$936.65 million from Thailand, up 52.8% year-on-year. Thailand's market share of cassava chips account for 89% of China's total import of cassava chips, a surge compared to 84.6% in the first five months of 2021.

Vietnam is the second largest market providing cassava chips to China. China imported cassava chips from Vietnam US$108.7 million, up 4.6% over the same period in 2021.

Regarding cassava starch, from January to May, 2022, China imported 2.02 million tons, worth US$1.05 billion, up 31.3% in volume and 46.2% in value year-on-year, mainly from Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

Vietnam is the second largest market supplying tapioca starch to China with 744,320 tons, worth US$379.67 million, up 228.6% in volume and 270% in value year-on-year.