Cambodia's cassava export drops 13 pct in Q1

Cambodia's cassava export drops 13 pct in Q1

PHNOM PENH, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia had exported 213,530 tons of fresh and dry cassava in the first three months of 2014, down 13 percent compared with 245,440 tons over the same period last year, according to the figures provided by the Commerce Ministry on Sunday.

However, the country saw a 16 percent rise in revenue from 12 million U.S. dollars during the January-March period last year to 14 million U.S. dollars at the same period this year, the figure said.

Som Yen, director of Banteay Meanchey province-based cassava broker Malai Trading Company, said the decline in the quantity of cassava was due to flood havoc last year.

The price of cassava this year was better than that of last year, he said, adding that a ton of dry cassava was purchased from farmers at the price of 181 U.S. dollars on Sunday, up 5 percent compared with 172 U.S. dollars at this time last year.

"Farmers have flocked to grow cassava this year as profit margins on the crop continue to rise," he told Xinhua. "If the weather is favorable this year, cassava production will be increased considerably because about 70 percent of the farmers in the province have planted cassava."

Cassava, which is used to produce animal feed and ethanol, has been sold to Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea and China.

Cassava, or tapioca, is planted in March or April and harvested from December to February in Cambodia.

According to estimated production data issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, cassava growing covered 421,000 hectares last year, yielding some 8.42 million tons of freshly harvested cassava.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/xinhua-news-agency/140525/cambodias-cassava-export-drops-13-pct-q1