Farmers in Northwest Struggle as Cassava Prices Remain Low

(Pailin) – Yon Kob’s cassava fields in Sala Krao district have usually been harvested by now, but this year the thicket of thin, knobby cassava plants is still standing. Mr. Kob has delayed his harvest in the hope that the price of the tuber would rise, but so far prices have stayed stubbornly low.

A member of Mr. Kob’s commune council, Yoeum Pheoun said the price of dry cassava has dropped from 631 riel last year to 527 riel this year. The price drop, combined with a smaller harvest caused by last year’s drought, has caused difficulties for many farmers in northwest Cambodia where cassava is the main agricultural export.

Mr. Pheoun attributed the low prices to falling demand abroad. Cassava is usually processed into flour or ethanol, but Cambodia has few processing facilities, so most raw cassava is shipped to Thailand or Vietnam for processing, after which much of it is sold to Chinese buyers. With the slowdown of the Chinese economy and cheap oil prices driving down the demand for ethanol, prices have slumped.

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