The main economic and nutritional value of cassava

The main economic and nutritional value of cassava

The main economic value of cassava

The main uses of cassava are in food, feed and industrial development. Root starch is one of the main starch raw materials in the industry. 65% of the world's total cassava production is used for human food and is the main food crop for low-income farmers in tropical wetlands. As a raw material for the production of feed, cassava meal and leaves are a high-energy feed ingredient. In the fermentation industry, tapioca starch or dried tablets can be used to make alcohol, citric acid, glutamic acid, lysine, cassava protein, glucose, fructose, etc. These products are used in food, beverage, medicine, textile (dyed cloth), paper making, etc. Both have important uses. Mainly used as feed and extracted starch in China.

The annual trade volume of cassava accounts for about 10% of the total production. The main products are dry tablets, granules and tapioca starch. China, Japan, the United States and other countries are the world's major importers of cassava products, accounting for 70-80% of their total trade. Thailand is the world's largest exporter of cassava products, with other major exporters being Indonesia and Vietnam.

Cassava nutritional value

The cassava root is not a nutrient-balanced food, because most of the cassava dry matter is starch. In fresh potatoes, starch contains about 25%-30%, and in dried potato, it contains about 80%.

The cassava roots contain less nitrogen, ranging from 1.5% to 4%, of which about 50% are non-protein nitrogen, mostly nitrous acid and nitrate nitrogen. In terms of amino acid composition, lysine and tryptophan are relatively more. It lacks methionine and cystine. The cassava root has low crude fiber content (1%-2%), low fat content, high calcium and potassium content and low phosphorus. It contains phytic acid and a small amount of vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B1 and vitamin B2.

The main use of cassava is for food. In developing countries in the tropics, cassava is the largest food crop.