Vietnam cautions against over-cultivation of cassava; has no plans to expand cultivation area

Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) announced the country will not expand its cassava cultivation area in the coming years, and will keep the area stable at 450,000 and 500,000 hectares per annum. The Nong Nghiep Viet Nam newspaper reported that the current allotment of land for cassava is sufficient to meet the demand for biofuels.
The ministry cautioned against cassava’s over-cultivation, saying that it will cause deforestation and land erosion, in addition to low productivity like what occurred in 2011. Local farmers are encouraged to improve cassava productivity, look for more export markets, and reduce their reliance on Chinese importers. At present, 90% of Vietnamese cassava products are exported to China. Vietnam expects to earn US$800 million from cassava exports this year and US$1 billion next year, compared to US$948 million in 2011. (August 20, 2012)