Analysis of evolution trend and industrial competitiveness of global cassava value chain

【Objective】 This study aimed to assess the development trends and international competitiveness of the global cassava value chain， providing empirical references for enhancing China’s position and competitiveness in the global cassava industry.【Method】 Based on cassava production and trade data of global and major producing countries from 2000 to 2023， a value chain analysis was conducted to map the cassava value chain. The evolution trends of cassava value chains in Africa countries， southeast Asia countries， and China were discussed. Additionally， international competitiveness evaluation methods were applied to measure the production and trade competitiveness of major global cassava producing and exporting countries.【Result】 African countries demonstrated significantly higher comprehensive comparative advantages in cassava production compared to other regions. Notably， the Democratic Republic of Congo （DR Congo） had maintained the highest comparative advantage in cassava production since 2005. Since 2010， except for Nigeria and Ghana， the synthetic advantages of comparative production in major African cassava producing countries such as DR Congo， Angola， and Mozambique had generally shown a declining trend. Among southeast Asian countries， Cambodia’s comprehensive comparative advantage in cassava production began to surpass that of major cassava producing nations such as Thailand， Vietnam， and Indonesia from 2010. By 2023， Cambodia’s synthetic advantage （SA） index of comparative production of cassava was 2.09， 5.16， and 13.60 times higher than those of Thailand， Vietnam， and Indonesia， respectively. The revealed comparative advantage （RCA） analysis of the world’s top five dried cassava chips expor-ting countries revealed that Thailand， Cambodia， Vietnam， and Costa Rica maintained RCA indexes above 2.500 from 2015 to 2023， demonstrating strong global competitiveness. However， the RCA indexes of Costa Rica， Thailand， and Vietnam showed a declining trend overall， with cassava trade gradually shrinking their share in international commodity trade. Among the top five global cassava starch exporting countries， Thailand， Laos， and Indonesia had seen rising RCA indexes since 2020. By 2023， Thailand’s cassava starch RCA index （53.708） increased by 32.39%， while Laos’ index （113.052） showed a greater increasing trend by surging 2.85-fold. China lacked production and trade advantages in cassava but possessed a massive market scale and excelled in technological research and development as well as value-added processing. 【Suggestion】 Paths for upgrading China’s cassava value chain and enhancing competitiveness are： （1）expand industrial and value chains guided by national strategic needs； （2）boost product value-added by focusing on mid-to-high ends of value chain； （3）leverage comprehensive comparative advantages to accelerate global strategic layout of the cassava global value chain.