Local market
Types of product for the domestic market
a. Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
and lysine: The highest consumption of cassava starch is in
the MSG and lysine industries, at a ratio of 80:20. Production
of commercial MSG in Thailand utilizes only two carbohydrate
sources for inoculation - molasses and cassava starch. To produce
one ton of MSG, factories need about 2.4 tons of cassava starch
or 7.0 tons of molasses.
b. Glucose / fructose / sorbitol:
In Thailand there are about 14 factories manufacturing glucose
syrup and two producing sorbitol. Only one factory produces
high fructose syrup (about 60,000 tons per year).
Table: Annual demand for cassava
starch in sweetener production (1998)
| Product |
Quantity
of starch (tons/year) |
Product
(kgs/1 kg of starch) |
| High fructose |
60,000 |
1.00 |
| Glucose syrup |
45,000 |
0.9-0.95 |
| Dextrose monohydrate |
20,000 |
1.75 |
| Dextrose anhydrous |
500 |
0.50 |
| Sorbitol |
30,000 |
1.20 |
| MSG/Lysine |
232,980 |
0.42 |
c. Food / sago industry:
Cassava starch is widely used by food factories, especially
for canned products. Its use as a binding and thickening agent
play important roles in many products, such as ice cream,
noodles and puddings. It is also used as a filler in wheat
flour to control protein content. The amount of starch used
in the sago industry is 6 percent of total cassava starch
consumption.
d. Paper / textile / plywood: Cassava
starch has gel-formation and retrogradation properties and
so is used in the paper industry for surface treatment (sizing).
In the textile industry it is used for yarn treatment, and
in the plywood industry for its binding properties. Starch
consumption in paper, textile and plywood industries are 11,
3 and 1 percent, respectively
e. Citric acid: There are only
two industries manufacturing citric acid in Thailand. One uses
cassava pulp as raw material (about 5-6 tons/day) for solid
state (surface) fermentation. The other, recently established,
uses cassava chips as the raw material for a submerged fermentation
process. About 40 percent of chips produce 6 tons of critic
acid per day.
Significance of local use in comparison with the export market
Thailand has been facing a shortage of raw tapioca materials,
despite increased global production. This made prices higher
in 2001. At the same time, export quantity dropped for most
types of products, except tapioca chips exports, which rose
considerably due to higher demand from China.
Table: Prices of raw tapioca material
and tapioca starch in Thailand, 1997-2001
| Year |
Tapioca raw material price (baht/ton) |
Tapioca starch price (baht/ton) |
| 1997 |
679 |
6,242 |
| 1998 |
1,386 |
10,448 |
| 1999 |
770 |
5,596 |
| 2000 |
623 |
5,192 |
| 2001 |
871 |
6,842 |
Source: Department of Agricultural
Economics, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives
Table: Thailand’s export
quantity and value of tapioca starch, 1997-2001
| Year |
Tapioca starch quantity (tons) |
Tapioca starch value (million
baht) |
| 1997 |
1,140,378 |
10,382.32 |
| 1998 |
770,096 |
9,746.03 |
| 1999 |
1,028,021 |
10,734.00 |
| 2000 |
1,409,659 |
12,406.16 |
| 2001 |
1,284,547 |
13,740.59 |
Source: Thai Tapioca Industry Trade
Association
Table: Wholesale prices of tapioca chips
and tapioca pellets in Bangkok, 1997-2001
| Year |
Tapioca chips prices (baht/ton) |
Tapioca pellet price (baht/ton) |
| 1997 |
2,029 |
2,217 |
| 1998 |
3,097 |
3,279 |
| 1999 |
2,410 |
2,623 |
| 2000 |
1,817 |
1,980 |
| 2001 |
2,261 |
2,231 |
Source: Department of Internal Trade,
Ministry of Commerce
Table: Thailand’s export quantity and value
of tapioca pellets and tapioca chips, 1997-2001
| Year |
Pellet quantity (tons) |
Pellet value (million baht) |
Chip quantity (tons) |
Chip value (million baht) |
| 1997 |
4,016,109 |
11,324.56 |
138,586 |
36.32 |
| 1998 |
2,961,486 |
10,238.48 |
237,162 |
860.77 |
| 1999 |
4,118,549 |
11,786.97 |
222,058 |
658.96 |
| 2000 |
3,819,541 |
8,894.10 |
95,170 |
206.10 |
| 2001 |
2,844,741 |
8,949.20 |
1,649,238 |
2,690.15 |
Source: Department of Foreign Trade,
Ministry of Commerce
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