Cassava root prices increase, cassava starch is difficult to consume in Nghe An

Farmers excited about high cassava prices

This time about the districtNghia Dan, saw people actively harvesting cassava at the end of the season to sell to processing factories. A cassava growing household in Nghia Loc commune said: The family has 1 hectare of cassava, which has almost finished harvesting, cassava yielded 17 tons/ha, cassava processing facilities purchased at 2.7 million VND/ton (an increase of about 500,000 VND/ton compared to previous years), the family estimated to earn nearly 46 million VND. The consumption of cassava is also quite favorable when most cassava processing facilities come to the place to buy for the people.

Mr. Cu Ngoc Thang - Vice Chairman of Nghia Loc Commune People's Committee said: Cassava is a key crop to reduce hunger and poverty for the people. The commune has over 91 hectares, with an average yield of 17-18 tons/ha, and has currently harvested over 90% of the area. With the current high selling price, people are very excited, because for a long time the price of cassava has been low. Currently, the commune is directing hamlets to prepare the land for replanting the new crop. Some cassava factories in the area support farmers with part of the cost for preparing the land, buying seedlings, etc.

Mr. Lam Van Thang - Head of the Department of Agriculture of Nghia Dan district said: The whole Nghia Dan district currently has about 500 hectares of cassava concentrated in the communes of Nghia Khanh, Nghia An, Nghia Duc, Nghia Loc.…For a long time, because cassava has been mainly grown in poor, high-land areas, people have not paid much attention to investment and the average yield has been low. With the current high price of cassava, the district has not expanded the area but has encouraged people to introduce new varieties with high yield and quality, and invest in proper care to increase output and economic value.

For Thanh Chuong district, up to now, it has maintained over 2,000 hectares of cassava, with an annual output of 70,000 - 80,000 tons of cassava tubers. Up to this point, the whole district has harvested over 90% of the area, most of the cassava has been consumed by Thanh Chuong cassava factory with high prices of 500,000 - 600,000 VND/ton, helping farmers improve their lives.

To increase the economic value of cassava, the district has coordinated with Thanh Chuong cassava factory to support investment in new cassava planting models with higher productivity and starch content. The factory supports farmers with seedlings and interest-free fertilizer loans. At the same time, it directs farmers to ensure planning of area, output, and stable supply to the factory.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc - Head of Nghe An Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection said that in the 2023-2024 cassava crop, the area of ​​high-yield cassava alone is nearly 10,000 hectares, most of which is located in the raw cassava area of ​​cassava starch processing factories, mainly concentrated in Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan, Anh Son, Nghia Dan, Quy Hop, Tuong Duong, Yen Thanh districts.

For a long time, most cassava areas in the province have had the habit of little investment in care, so the yield is low, from 17-20 tons, some intensive cultivation areas reach over 30 tons/ha. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development directs localities to guide the process of planting and intensive cultivation of cassava to increase productivity, and have solutions to improve and develop the raw material area in a sustainable direction.

Cassava starch is difficult to consume.

While cassava prices are high, after Tet, the market for cassava starch is difficult to consume, causing many processing facilities to have inventory. A representative of a cassava processing facility in Nghia Duc commune, Nghia Dan district shared: After Tet, the Chinese market has limited the purchase of cassava starch, so our facility is currently stuck with over 400 tons of goods. Currently, the facility is still buying cassava for people in Nghia Dan and Tan Ky districts at a price of 2,700 VND/kg, the remaining products are being carefully preserved to wait for an opportunity to sell. Nghia Dan district currently has 4 cassava starch processing factories and facilities, due to difficulties in output, right after Tet, 2 facilities have temporarily stopped operating.

To cope with the difficult situation, some cassava factories in Nghe An have found effective solutions, which is to diversify products to sell to new markets, not depending on the Chinese market. Mr. Le Huy Chuong - General Director of Asia Hoa Son Joint Stock Company (Hoa Son Cassava Factory, Anh Son District) shared: In order not to depend on the Chinese market, the factory has invested in modern technology to deeply process cassava starch into other products to sell to a wider market.

Specifically, every year the unit processes over 10,500 tons of cassava starch into liquid glucose, exported to Taiwan, the US, South Africa, Australia, Hungary, etc. Especially, the liquid glucose product is sold to foreign companies located in the Vietnamese market to process foods and confectionery including: Ajinomoto, Koryo, Paldo, Massan, Acecook, Medion tea, Vifon, Micoem Domestic, Orion, Hai Ha, Eikodo, IDP, Trang An 3, Masan, Cholimex, Nutifood, Vinamilk, etc.

According to experts, to develop sustainable cassava material areas in Nghe An, with stable consumption, it is necessary to have fundamental solutions; focus on shifting the structure of cassava products to suit domestic processing needs and import markets. Accordingly, in addition to starch production, it is necessary to increase the output of dried cassava chips. Factories invest in applying deep processing technology to diversify cassava products with high quality and added value, such as modified starch, glucose, maltodextrin, alcohol, lysine... From there, they can be exported to serve many markets, limiting the current dependence on one market (China).