Cassava export increased strongly in the first four months of the year. — Photo courtesy of nhandan.com.vn

Exports of cassava and cassava-based products were estimated to be worth US$443 million in the first four months of the year, a year on-year increase of 23.9 per cent, according to the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority.

China was the biggest buyer, importing them to produce feed and ethanol.

Export prices are expected to remain high due to falling supply and high demand from China.

In the domestic market, cassava prices have reached VND3,400 per kilogramme, the highest in many years, which has encouraged farmers to take better care of their crops.

Nguyen Dinh Xuan, director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tay Ninh Province, which has the largest area under cassava in the country, said at current prices farmers could earn over VND70 million (US$3,030) per hectare per crop.

Last year the province harvested over 3.7 million tonnes, he said.

In the 2020-21 crop it has 33,340ha under the crop.

Tay Ninh has 65 factories that process cassava starch with a total annual capacity of 6.4 million tonnes of tubers.

With local supply of cassava unable to meet their demand, they import from Cambodia or buy from other provinces, Xuan added.

In Gia Lai Province, fresh cassava has fetched high prices this year. The Gia Lai Tapioca Starch Factory, for instance, buys from farmers at VND3,100 per kilogramme, VND1,000 higher than a year ago.

Cassava is one of the main crops in Gia Lai, with 13,000ha under it, mainly in the east and south-east.

Quang Ngai Province has more than 16,000ha under cassava and produced more than 311,000 tonnes last year, according to its Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection.

Farmers have planted more than 14,200ha, but more than 2,400ha are infected with leaf mosaic disease, it said. — VNS