Tapioca Starch Global Market

In 2021, tapioca starch made its mark as the 1122nd most traded product worldwide, boasting a total trade value of $2.89 billion. The period between 2020 and 2021 witnessed a substantial surge in tapioca starch exports, with a remarkable growth rate of 34.8%, surging from $2.15 billion to $2.89 billion. Although tapioca starch accounts for a modest 0.014% of total world trade, its presence in the global market is becoming increasingly significant.

Exporters Driving the Market

Thailand emerged as the leading exporter of tapioca starch in 2021, with exports reaching an impressive value of $1.64 billion. Vietnam closely followed with exports valued at $945 million, while Indonesia, Laos, and Brazil exported $122 million, $52.7 million, and $26.4 million worth of tapioca starch, respectively.

Notably, between 2020 and 2021, Thailand experienced the most substantial growth in tapioca starch exports, witnessing a remarkable increase of $504 million. Indonesia followed suit with exports soaring by $92.9 million, while Vietnam, Laos, and Brazil saw growth rates of $80 million, $25.3 million, and $15.9 million, respectively.

ContinentCountryTrade Value
AfricaBurundi58,745
AfricaBenin13,917
AfricaCote d’Ivoire347,088
AfricaCameroon42,987
AfricaDemocratic Republic of the Congo142,301
AfricaRepublic of the Congo3,048
AfricaEgypt55,502
AfricaEthiopia495
AfricaGhana229,605
AfricaGuinea24,369
AfricaGambia575
AfricaKenya19,634
AfricaMalawi1,438
AfricaNigeria102,406
AfricaRwanda250,496
AfricaSenegal509
AfricaTogo91,159
AfricaTanzania85,713
AfricaUganda6,909
AfricaSouth Africa122,822
AfricaZambia140,134
AsiaAfghanistan71
AsiaUnited Arab Emirates2,294
AsiaChina1,387,480
AsiaCyprus470
AsiaHong Kong598,011
AsiaIndonesia122,480,907
AsiaIndia4,140,212
AsiaIsrael10
AsiaJapan46,548
AsiaCambodia18,072,416
AsiaSouth Korea7,090
AsiaLaos52,718,523
AsiaLebanon715
AsiaSri Lanka132,203
AsiaBurma664,171
AsiaMalaysia407,086
AsiaOman520
AsiaPakistan103,060
AsiaPhilippines11,283
AsiaSingapore1,056,929
AsiaThailand1,644,592,862
AsiaTurkey18,982
AsiaVietnam945,338,766
AsiaChinese Taipei1,967,112
EuropeAustria1,612,618
EuropeBelgium5,835,240
EuropeBulgaria1,687
EuropeSwitzerland2,254
EuropeCzechia298,716
EuropeGermany1,060,0711
EuropeDenmark706,844
EuropeSpain382,880
EuropeEstonia65
EuropeFinland83
EuropeFrance681,746
EuropeUnited Kingdom275,258
EuropeGreece8,973
EuropeCroatia7,345
EuropeHungary30,688
EuropeIreland28,307
EuropeItaly690,920
EuropeLithuania4,598
EuropeLuxembourg394
EuropeLatvia69
EuropeMalta2
EuropeNetherlands14,505,354
EuropePoland192,298
EuropePortugal232,550
EuropeRomania584
EuropeRussia36,629
EuropeSlovakia103,855
EuropeSlovenia10,925
EuropeSweden258,632
North AmericaBelize13
North AmericaCanada516,337
North AmericaCosta Rica21,608
North AmericaDominican Republic27,370
North AmericaGuatemala75,236
North AmericaHonduras828
North AmericaHaiti9,351
North AmericaJamaica7,294
North AmericaMexico6,559
North AmericaNicaragua5,943,205
North AmericaPanama12,393
North AmericaEl Salvador14,263
North AmericaUnited States2,679,490
OceaniaAustralia402,243
OceaniaFiji68,881
OceaniaNew Zealand8,880
OceaniaFrench Polynesia52
OceaniaTonga110,719
OceaniaSamoa53
South AmericaArgentina62
South AmericaBrazil26,413,943
South AmericaChile1,719
South AmericaColombia540,169
South AmericaEcuador83,311
South AmericaPeru6,996
South AmericaParaguay22,743,658
South AmericaSuriname4,931
South AmericaUruguay14,712
South AmericaVenezuela6,245
Table: Exporters of Tapioca Starch (2021)

Importers Capitalizing on Tapioca Starch

In 2021, China emerged as the top importer of tapioca starch, with imports valued at a staggering $2.22 billion. Chinese Taipei secured the second position with imports reaching $150 million, while the United States, Japan, and Malaysia imported $92.3 million, $61.9 million, and $50.6 million worth of tapioca starch, respectively.

Between 2020 and 2021, China demonstrated the fastest-growing appetite for tapioca starch, witnessing an impressive import growth of $662 million. Chinese Taipei followed suit with an increase of $27.8 million, while the United States, Vietnam, and Japan recorded import growth rates of $24.6 million, $24.2 million, and $12 million, respectively.

ContinentCountryTrade Value
AfricaAngola5,677
AfricaBurundi1,251
AfricaBurkina Faso182,184
AfricaBotswana19,816
AfricaCentral African Republic820
AfricaCote d’Ivoire227
AfricaCameroon10,025
AfricaDemocratic Republic of the Congo111,986
AfricaRepublic of the Congo1,344
AfricaCape Verde2,239
AfricaAlgeria1,016,775
AfricaEthiopia18
AfricaGhana660,021
AfricaGambia3501
AfricaGuinea-Bissau79
AfricaKenya88,993
AfricaLiberia18
AfricaMorocco41,883
AfricaMadagascar332,606
AfricaMali31,692
AfricaMozambique958,611
AfricaMauritania71,396
AfricaMauritius475,727
AfricaNamibia33,994
AfricaNigeria131,539
AfricaRwanda44
AfricaSenegal1,382,028
AfricaSao Tome and Principe709
AfricaEswatini10,052
AfricaSeychelles21
AfricaTanzania110,159
AfricaSouth Africa6,968,171
AfricaZambia20,380
AfricaZimbabwe104,858
AsiaAfghanistan30
AsiaUnited Arab Emirates1,038,362
AsiaArmenia9,737
AsiaAzerbaijan37
AsiaBangladesh6,373,318
AsiaBahrain3,418
AsiaBrunei289,466
AsiaChina2,221,793,981
AsiaCyprus4,358
AsiaGeorgia1,184
AsiaHong Kong3,882,161
AsiaIndonesia25,988,360
AsiaIndia340,289
AsiaIran93,407
AsiaIsrael2,045,000
AsiaJordan12,871
AsiaJapan61,909,725
AsiaKazakhstan17,017
AsiaKyrgyzstan85,133
AsiaCambodia681,400
AsiaSouth Korea6,220,541
AsiaKuwait277,840
AsiaLaos2,374,907
AsiaLebanon221,152
AsiaSri Lanka1,140,162
AsiaMacau82,037
AsiaMaldives3,030
AsiaBurma2248472
AsiaMongolia32191
AsiaMalaysia50,610,581
AsiaNepal411,050
AsiaOman812,919
AsiaPakistan3,401,249
AsiaPhilippines46,811,747
AsiaQatar384,135
AsiaSaudi Arabia195,012
AsiaSingapore27,540,568
AsiaThailand1,924,025
AsiaTimor-Leste5,447
AsiaTurkey215,588
AsiaUzbekistan4
AsiaVietnam45,730,951
AsiaChinese Taipei149,868,355
EuropeAustria2,090,394
EuropeBelgium5,193,972
EuropeBulgaria30,429
EuropeBosnia and Herzegovina326
EuropeBelarus108,448
EuropeSwitzerland1,561,917
EuropeCzechia864,466
EuropeGermany11,806,665
EuropeDenmark178,574
EuropeSpain4,728,758
EuropeEstonia201,463
EuropeFinland667,923
EuropeFrance7,375,683
EuropeUnited Kingdom9,162,961
EuropeGreece1,576,938
EuropeCroatia53,336
EuropeHungary844,613
EuropeIreland678,739
EuropeIceland22,723
EuropeItaly4,561,012
EuropeLithuania91,603
EuropeLuxembourg26,330
EuropeLatvia8,144
EuropeMoldova870
EuropeNorth Macedonia331
EuropeMalta3,325
EuropeMontenegro668
EuropeNetherlands17,456,461
EuropeNorway815,494
EuropePoland2,997,762
EuropePortugal1,191,829
EuropeRomania146,966
EuropeRussia845,270
EuropeSerbia31,295
EuropeSlovakia25,094
EuropeSlovenia15,903
EuropeSweden1,786,846
EuropeUkraine78,260
North AmericaAruba1,528
North AmericaBahamas20
North AmericaBelize99
North AmericaBermuda1,068
North AmericaBarbados71
North AmericaCanada9,853,141
North AmericaCosta Rica617,118
North AmericaCuraçao693
North AmericaDominican Republic397,780
North AmericaGrenada244
North AmericaGuatemala544,815
North AmericaHonduras116,363
North AmericaMexico3,205,156
North AmericaNicaragua4,016
North AmericaPanama455,077
North AmericaEl Salvador241,961
North AmericaTrinidad and Tobago62,669
North AmericaUnited States92,302,927
OceaniaAmerican Samoa15,934
OceaniaAustralia9,723,853
OceaniaCook Islands7,272
OceaniaFiji395,796
OceaniaMicronesia422
OceaniaGuam2,746
OceaniaMarshall Islands330
OceaniaNorthern Mariana Islands3,769
OceaniaNew Caledonia51,910
OceaniaNew Zealand1,291,546
OceaniaPalau1,038
OceaniaPapua New Guinea189,496
OceaniaFrench Polynesia135,950
OceaniaSolomon Islands536
OceaniaVanuatu240
OceaniaSamoa35,082
South AmericaArgentina3,017,575
South AmericaBolivia3,300,761
South AmericaBrazil27,080
South AmericaChile2,402,956
South AmericaColombia2,244,139
South AmericaEcuador964,015
South AmericaGuyana12,885
South AmericaPeru935,351
South AmericaParaguay2,741,702
South AmericaSuriname52,557
South AmericaUruguay734,971
South AmericaVenezuela531,809
Table: Importers of Tapioca Starch (2021)

Navigating Tariffs

As of 2018, tapioca starch faced an average tariff rate of 14.3%, positioning it as the 1251st lowest tariff based on the HS6 product classification. Importers and exporters of tapioca starch need to consider the tariff landscape when engaging in international trade.

With its rising trade volume, thriving exporters, and eager importers, tapioca starch is carving a niche in global commerce. As the demand for this versatile product continues to grow, stakeholders in the tapioca starch industry must adapt to changing market dynamics and explore opportunities for sustainable growth.

Data from BACI and General Statistics Office of Vietnam