Cassava Market Data, Flour Standards and Trade

Editorial evidence reviewedReviewed 2026-09-10Release 2026-09-19-batch-230

Market value

$164.1B

Producing countries tracked

11

Grading systems

1

Active supply risks

6

Trade corridors

5

Latest reviewed evidence

The figures below are composition and particle-size requirements from the FAO/WHO Codex Standard for Edible Cassava Flour CXS 176-1989. The separate FAOSTAT crop dataset records national and global production, harvested area and yield through 2024, but those dated crop statistics are not a current root, chip, flour or starch offer. Standards and crop aggregates do not determine a live physical or delivered cassava price.

Edible cassava flour moisture maximum

13

percent by mass · CXS 176-1989, amended 2023

Edible cassava flour total hydrocyanic acid maximum

10

milligrams per kilogram · CXS 176-1989, amended 2023

Edible cassava flour crude fibre maximum

2

percent by mass · CXS 176-1989, amended 2023

Edible cassava flour ash maximum

3

percent by mass · CXS 176-1989, amended 2023

Fine cassava flour sieve aperture

0.6

millimetres at not less than 90 percent passage · CXS 176-1989, amended 2023

Coarse cassava flour sieve aperture

1.2

millimetres at not less than 90 percent passage · CXS 176-1989, amended 2023

Fresh roots, chips, starch, flour and gari are separate products

Fresh cassava roots are perishable primary produce whose value depends on cultivar, maturity, dry matter, starch yield, defects, harvest timing and rapid delivery to a processor or market. Chips and pellets are dried feed or industrial inputs; extracted starch or tapioca has its own purity and functional specifications; edible cassava flour is milled from dried chips or paste and sifted; gari is fermented, dewatered, granulated and heat-treated. Atlas retains the transformation stage and intended use before comparing production, quality, price or trade records.

Cultivar, detoxification and analytical evidence travel with the lot

Cassava contains cyanogenic compounds, and sweet or bitter labels alone are not a substitute for measured safety evidence. Records should retain cultivar or type where known, root condition, harvest age and date, peel and foreign matter, dry matter and starch content, total hydrocyanic acid result and method for food products, soaking, fermentation, pressing, drying, heat treatment or other detoxification steps, process completion date, moisture, microbiology, contaminants, packaging barrier, storage conditions and certificate context. Atlas does not infer a safe food specification from an untested raw-root description.

Codex flour limits apply to edible cassava flour—not every cassava product

Codex CXS 176-1989 defines edible cassava flour from Manihot esculenta and distinguishes fine flour, for which at least 90 percent passes a 0.60 millimetre sieve, from coarse flour, for which at least 90 percent passes a 1.20 millimetre sieve. It sets maximums of 13 percent moisture, 10 milligrams per kilogram total hydrocyanic acid, 2 percent crude fibre and 3 percent ash. These limits do not automatically apply to fresh roots, chips, pellets, starch, gari or other processed products, each of which requires its own named standard or contract specification.

Dated crop statistics and standards do not determine a delivered cassava price

FAOSTAT records production quantity, harvested area and yield for primary crops through 2024 and preserves source and estimation flags. Those observations aggregate countries, varieties, production systems and end uses. A delivered cassava price still requires a defined product and lot, quality and safety evidence, current permitted physical observations, quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window, logistics and information vintage. When those fields are missing, Atlas keeps the price unsupported rather than substituting a crop total or flour standard.

Questions procurement teams ask

Are fresh cassava roots and edible cassava flour interchangeable trade products?

No. Flour has been processed, dried, milled and sifted and is governed by composition and safety limits. Fresh roots retain perishability, cultivar, harvest, condition and processing-yield risks.

What is the Codex total hydrocyanic acid limit for edible cassava flour?

CXS 176-1989 sets a maximum of 10 milligrams per kilogram for total hydrocyanic acid. The named product, sampling and test method must remain attached to the result.

What distinguishes fine from coarse edible cassava flour under Codex?

At least 90 percent of fine flour passes a 0.60 millimetre sieve, while at least 90 percent of coarse flour passes a 1.20 millimetre sieve. Particle-size grade should be declared with the product name.

Which fields make physical cassava offers comparable?

Product form and intended use, cultivar or type where known, dry matter or starch basis, moisture, hydrocyanic acid and method where applicable, particle size, processing and detoxification history, food-safety evidence, origin, harvest and processing dates, lot, package, quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window and evidence date.