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162 The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume III - 2011 162 Cassava Industry in Thailand: Prospects Beyond the Farmerûs Cash Crop, Cassava is an Industrial Crop Cassava with edible roots high in starch content (around 70-80% of dry weight) is recognized as an important subsistence food crop for an estimated 500 million farmers globally. In some cassava growing areas such as Nigeria, Ghana and Brazil, the starch-reserved roots are used as the main staple food in the form of fresh roots or as dried cassava flour. Unlike those countries, Thailand has utilized cassava as an industrial crop, with a well-developed industry and market. The industrialization of cassava processing in Thailand has extended from primary products such as chips and pellets to high value-added products which are starch and starch derivatives including tapioca pearls, modified starch, sweeteners, organic acid, sugar alcohols and alcohols. These primary and value-added products are supplied for both local and export markets. With Market-Oriented Technology Development, Thai Cassava Industry has Greatly Expanded Cassava chip industry Cassava chip factories are small-scale enterprises which belong to farmers or small businessmen and are located in close proximity to the growing area. The chipping factories are installed with simple equipment, consisting mainly of a chopper. Roots are loaded into the hopper of the chopping machine by a tractor; after chopping into small pieces, the chips are sun-dried on a cement floor. The final moisture content of chips should be below 14% and the sand content should not exceed 3%. Normally it takes 2.00-2.50 kg of fresh roots (with 25% starch content) to produce 1 kg of chips (14% moisture content). Chips are sold to pelletizing manufacturers who either directly export the chips/pellets or sell to traders. In most cases, the small chip factories sell their products to large factories that in turn sell a consolidated consignment to pellet manufacturers. Some portions of cassava chips are used locally for animal feed, as well as feedstock for producing bioethanol, an environmentally friendly, alternative energy for liquid fuel use as a blend with gasoline, i.e. gasohol in the transportation sector. In addition, the biofuel program being established in some countries, in particular China, has driven a marked increase in the export volume of cassava chips. As the high starch content of cassava chips is of value for biotechnological conversion, the demand for chips for this industry is still very promising. 160-170_mac9 5/3/12, 11:43 PM 162