Thai share in the world market
Thailand has long been the world’s biggest exporter of tapioca
products. It has successfully maintained the top position while
other tapioca exporting countries have undergone ups-and-downs.
One major factor is that other big tapioca-producing nations,
such as Nigeria, Zaire, Indonesia and Uganda, consume a considerable
part of their output locally, thus leaving marginal surplus
for export. Besides, production in African countries is constrained
by problems related to adverse weather conditions, crop diseases
or civil unrest, despite the growing popularity of cassava there.
Market shares in global tapioca
trade
| Country/year |
1995-1997 Average |
1999 |
2000* |
2001* |
| Total global exports |
6.7 |
7.0
|
6.9 |
7.3 |
| Thailand |
5.6 |
6.4 |
6.5 |
7.0 |
| Indonesia |
0.4 |
0.3 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
| China |
0.4 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
| Vietnam |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
| Others |
0.3 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
Quantity: million metric tons
Note: The amounts are in product weight of chips and pellets
* estimates
Source: FAO
Thailand continues to dominate the market with a share, exporting
over 90 percent of world exports with 6-7 million tons shipped
annually, whereas other producers such as Indonesia, China,
have seen an export slow-down over recent years. Vietnam even
has not had export records since 1995. In 2001, Thailand was
expected to raise its shipments by half a million tons, sustained
by larger sales to Asia. In the last few years, the country
has been diversifying its markets, to reduce its dependence
on the EU. This has also had important implications for the
composition of its sales, with flour and starch gaining a growing
share in exports. Usually, the EU is a major market for Thai
tapioca pellets.
Thailand’s share in the world tapioca market will continue thanks
to the government’s efforts to expand exports to new markets
as well as maintaining old ones, measures to enhance the quality
of tapioca products to better satisfy global demand and financial
and technological assistance granted to local growers.
| Export
market |
 |
|
