Tapioca industry of Thailand

Overview of Native Starch Industry of Thailand Native starch industry plays an important role to the economy of Thailand. Native starch is extracted from the root of the tapioca plant, which has the ability to grow in dry weather and low-nutrient soils where other crops do not grow well. Tapioca roots can be stored in the ground for up to 24 months, and some species for up to 36 months, thus harvest may be extended until market conditions are favorable or native starch production capacity is available. Total area of tapioca plantation in Thailand during 2007 was about 7.48 million Rai (1 Rai = 1600 SQ. Meter), allowing the production of about 26.41 million tons of native starch and generating income of about 29,581 million Baht. The largest area of tapioca plantation in Thailand is in the Northeast region. The top 5 provinces with highest plantation areas are Nakhon Ratchasima, Kampangpetch, Chaiyaphum, Srakaew and Chachoengsao (Office of Agricultural Economics, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, 2007).

Tapioca agricultural industry in Thailand has three types of production as follows: • Native starch production (dry powder, slurry and cake) • Modified starch production • Starch derivatives production (glucose, fructose, dextrose, maltose, sorbitol etc.) According to the Information and Communication Technology Bureau, Department of Industrial Works, there are 93 native starch factories as of 2007. Northeast of Thailand has the highest number of native starch factories (46%) followed by East region (31%), Central region (15%) and North region (8%) respectively. Native starch factories are typically located within the same areas as tapioca plantation

Business Perspectives in Native Starch Industry in Thailand Thailand is the world largest exporter of products from tapioca agricultural industry. The market share is around 75% of the total export value over 40,000 million Baht per year. The important markets are Japan, Taiwan, China and Indonesia. Beside that tapioca starch from Thailand is also highly demanded from countries in Middle and South America. Over the past decades, the number of native starch factories has been increased to respond to customers’ demands, and consequently native starch industry is becoming more competitive. Thus, native starch factories are required to assure product quality, to offer competitive product pricing as well as to improve their productivity.