This is the first time cassava products have entered the group of export products with export value beating the threshold of US$1 billion.

Data of the General Department of Customs indicates that cassava product exports totaled more than 3.2 million tons from January to August, worth nearly US$974.5 million, up 67.5% in volume and some 43% in value.

According to the agriculture ministry, Vietnam has since June 2012 exported 244,000 tons of cassava each month on average, bringing home over US$83 million. The ministry forecasts this month’s cassava exports at 244,000 tons worth more than US$80 million.

As such, there is a high possibility that the nation will pocket a combined US$1.05 billion in cassava exports as of late this month. This also means that cassava exports in the nine-month period would jump by around US$100 million compared to the figure in all of 2011.

The customs department’s data shows that major foreign importers of Vietnamese cassava products are China, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Japan. China as the biggest buyer in the year to date has imported from Vietnam roughly US$855 million worth of nearly 2.9 million tons of cassava, about 88% of the total.

The second biggest buyer is South Korea with some US$30.6 million, followed by Taiwan with US$22 million, the Philippines with US$13.55 million, Malaysia with approximately US$8.3 million and Japan with around US$3.15 million.