Cassava Market Update and short-term outlook

Abstract

The regional cassava market has experience a rapid recovery from the low prices of 2016-17 in the last 12 months. By the second half of 2017 a supply shortage became apparent and prices rapidly increased, with starch price FOB Bangkok peaking at $540/t in June 2018. The reduction in supply was caused by several factors, including a reduction in planted area due to the very low prices in the previous year, flooding in key production areas of Thailand, and some disease pressure in Cambodia and Vietnam beginning to appear. It is apparent that access to reliable and timely production data is lacking with the exception of Thailand where crop assessments are done within the season. The project is often contacted by industry stakeholders looking for insights into production levels in main producing countries illustrating the demand for more real time data for decision making.