AsemconnectVietnam - Vietnam is asserting its position as the world's third largest cassava exporter, with impressive growth figures in volume in the first half of 2025.

However, behind the bright picture of billion-dollar turnover is the challenge of sustainable farming, requiring the cassava industry to strongly transform towards green and circular.
Position and impressive figures from exports
Cassava and cassava products are not only one of the 13 key agricultural products of Vietnam but also put Vietnam in third place globally in cassava exports. Entering the first half of 2025, the Vietnamese cassava industry has recorded extremely positive results. Specifically, the total export volume of cassava and cassava products has reached 2.3 million tons, bringing in 711.5 million USD. Compared to the same period of 2024, this is an impressive growth rate of 68.6% in volume and 12.8% in value.
However, it is worth noting that the average export price of cassava and its products has decreased significantly, to only 304.1 USD/tonne in the first 6 months of 2025, a decrease of 33.1% compared to the same period last year. This shows that although total output and value have increased, the unit value of the product is under great pressure in the international market.
China continued to be a "magnet" attracting Vietnamese cassava, accounting for 93.4% of Vietnam's total export market share in the first half of this year. Particularly for cassava chips, China imported 585,918 tonnes from Vietnam in the first 5 months of 2025, worth of 114.4 million USD, a sharp increase of 115% in volume and 61% in value over the same period last year. Similarly, Vietnam is also the largest supplier of cassava starch to this billion-people market, with more than 1.14 million tonnes exported in the first 5 months of 2025, accounting for nearly half (48.84%) of China's total cassava starch imports. The amount of cassava starch exported to China from Vietnam increased by 99% in volume and 36.1% in value compared to the same period last year.
Sustainable direction for the billion-dollar cassava industry
Although it brings in a large export value, approximately 1 - 1.2 billion USD/year and contributes to 517,800 hectares of cassava area nationwide with an output of 10.5 million tonnes of fresh tubers/year, the Vietnamese cassava industry also faces many environmental challenges. Massive and unsustainable cassava cultivation is causing serious soil depletion, because cassava is a plant that absorbs a lot of nutrients and is prone to erosion due to its low coverage.
Faced with this situation, a strategic move was approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) at the end of 2024: The project to transform the cassava production system in Vietnam through circular farming and smart cassava starch value chain management. This project is implemented with close cooperation from prestigious international partners such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).
The project aims to build a solid technical foundation for Vietnam, towards low-emission cassava production. With four main components, including selecting carbon sources to increase soil absorption, establishing field carbon measurement techniques, synthesizing regenerative agriculture measures and developing a sustainable starch supply strategy, the project promises to change the face of the cassava industry.
In particular, the highlight of the project is the integration of the carbon measurement method (MRV), along with smart monitoring and management of the value chain, using high technologies such as sensors, satellite data and drones to monitor soil and crop parameters.
This model is expected to be piloted in Tay Ninh from September of 2025, an area assessed to have favorable natural conditions and great potential for replication.
This is not only a simple project but also a specific direction, directly supporting the Project on Sustainable Development of the Cassava Industry to 2030, with a vision to 2050 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, with the expectation of increasing value and ensuring a green future for Vietnamese cassava.
CK
Source: VITIC/ haiquanonline.com.vn