Latest (Sep 23) Thailand Cassava & Starch Production and Market Update

Below is the latest survey information (Sep 22) on Thailand’s cassava and starch production and market for your reference and analysis:

1.Fresh Cassava Supply: Favourable cassava prices encourage farmers to harvest. Weekly arrivals of fresh cassava continue to rise week-on-week.

2.Fresh Cassava Quality: Average quality with moderate sand and soil content; starch content remains relatively low. Nakhon Ratchasima: 22.0–23.0% (+2.0).

3.Fresh Cassava Prices: Eastern Nakhon Ratchasima: THB 3.85–4.30/kg (high level, +0.0); Khon Kaen: THB 3.70–4.25/kg (+0.0).

4.Operating Mills: As of Sep 22, 83 mills are in operation, accounting for 78.3% of total capacity, up 2.0 percentage points week-on-week.

5.Production Status: Raw material remains tight; capacity utilization stands at 45%. Starch extraction rate: 22.5–23.5% (+2.0 percentage points).

6.Market Situation: Inventories remain at a low level. Thailand’s domestic cassava starch market is in a volatile and wait-and-see mood.

7.Domestic Starch Prices: End of last week, standard grade: THB 20.4–21.0/kg (+0.0); premium grade: THB 21.1–21.4/kg (+0.0).

8.Bangkok Export Quotations: End of last week, standard grade: USD 680–690/tonne (-5); premium grade: USD 695–705/tonne (-5) (FOB Bangkok).

9.Other Notes: Starch content of fresh cassava feedstock is still low, and starch production costs have started to edge down slowly.

Summary: So far this week, on the production side, starch output has increased compared with the same period last week, while finished goods inventories stay low (sampled data). On the export side, driven by falling production costs and cautious purchasing sentiment among Chinese buyers, Thailand’s starch export market is generally steady-to-weaker. The average sampled brand prices closed slightly lower (FOB Bangkok standard grade down USD 5/tonne, premium grade down USD 5/tonne week-on-week). Meanwhile, actual FOB export volumes of starch to China have seen a slight increase week-on-week.

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