Reduced supply increases cassava prices

The average price of cassava has risen in recent days, driven mainly by lower supply. As the sale of younger cassava was greater last year, the availability of roots with more than 1 cycle has been low in all regions monitored by Cepea. Furthermore, rains hindered or even interrupted field work, helping to reduce supply. 

Demand, in turn, continued to grow, due to the need to replenish stocks or serve consumer segments – starch factories even intensified the acquisition of roots from more distant areas, intensifying the competition for the product between companies. Thus, between February 11 and 15, the average weekly forward price of a ton of starched cassava was R$ 375,34 (R$ 0,6528 per gram of starch on the 5 kg hydrostatic scale), 1% higher than that of the previous week. In the first half of February, the average value of raw materials was 4,6% higher than that of January, in nominal terms.