Last updated on August 2nd, 2026 at 06:10 am
Nigeria really is the world’s top cassava producer, but the country in second place surprises most people. It is not Thailand, and it is not Brazil either, despite what many older rankings still claim.
Nigeria produces more cassava than any other country by a wide margin, roughly 20 percent of global output.
The real surprise sits at second place: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, not Thailand or Brazil as many older rankings still suggest.
Thailand, Ghana, and Brazil round out the top five, each playing a genuinely different role in the global cassava economy, from Thailand’s processing and export dominance to Ghana’s growing cash-crop sector.
This guide covers accurate current production figures for the world’s leading cassava producers, the specific challenges each country faces, and where smaller but meaningful producers fit into the picture.
Table of Contents
Top Cassava Producers by Volume
| Rank | Country | Production (Million Metric Tons) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria | ~62.7 |
| 2 | Democratic Republic of Congo | ~45.2 |
| 3 | Thailand | ~30.6 |
| 4 | Ghana | ~26.5 |
| 5 | Brazil | ~18.5 |
These figures come from FAOSTAT-sourced production data, the most recent fully consolidated dataset available.
Indonesia, commonly assumed to round out the top five in older articles, actually ranks sixth in current data, behind Ghana specifically.
Nigeria: The World’s Leading Producer
Nigeria produces roughly 20 percent of the world’s cassava, based on research on cassava production data compiled by Helgi Library.
Ideal growing conditions across the Southwest, South-South, and Southeast regions support this, along with a vast smallholder farming base.
This guide on ideal climate for cassava farming covers what makes these regions so productive.
Cassava underpins food security and rural income across the country, processed into flour, garri, and ethanol.
Pests, plant disease, and price volatility remain real threats to farmer livelihoods that ongoing research and government support aim to address.
Democratic Republic of Congo: The Real Second Place
The Democratic Republic of Congo produces more cassava than Thailand, Brazil, or Indonesia, making it the world’s clear second-largest producer rather than an afterthought.
Cassava provides critical calories for millions of people in rural areas specifically, but production faces genuine constraints from cassava mosaic disease and cassava brown streak disease.
The latter can destroy up to 100 percent of yield in eastern DRC’s worst-affected areas, per PMC research on cassava brown streak disease.
Poor transportation infrastructure compounds the problem by limiting how efficiently harvested cassava reaches markets.
This is why disease-resistant varieties and infrastructure investment remain the country’s central priorities going forward.
Our guide on cassava weed management covers another agronomic challenge growers across these regions face regularly.
Thailand: Processing and Export Power
Thailand ranks third in raw production but leads the world in cassava exports.
It is responsible for roughly 60 to 65 percent of total global cassava exports, based on cassava production data compiled by World Population Review.
Favorable growing conditions in the northeast, particularly Nakhon Ratchasima and Buriram, support cultivation.
Heavy investment in processing technology converts raw cassava into tapioca starch and flour for international markets.
This processing capacity, more than raw output alone, is what makes Thailand disproportionately influential in the global cassava trade.
Ghana: A Rising Cash Crop Economy
Ghana has grown into a genuine top-five cassava producer, not just a secondary player.
The crop serves both as a dietary staple and an increasingly important cash crop.
Government investment in agricultural technology has helped lift yields, and cassava also gets processed into flour and starch products that contribute to the country’s economic growth.
Brazil: Balancing Domestic and Export Demand
Brazil serves both domestic consumption and international export markets, with cassava supporting food, livestock feed, and industrial uses like starch and biofuel production.
Government-backed financial assistance and technical training help farmers improve yields and cassava varieties.
The crop is frequently intercropped with other plants too, a practice that supports food sovereignty across rural farming communities specifically.
Other Notable Cassava Producers
Indonesia ranks behind Ghana in current data but remains a major producer, with farmland across Java exporting cassava to China, the EU, and ASEAN.
Vietnam has built a strong cassava sector around industrial uses like animal feed and biofuel production.
Cambodia’s northeastern cassava farming supports rural communities directly through both food security and export income.
Mexico blends traditional and modern farming techniques, growing cassava for human consumption and livestock feed alike, with ongoing breeding research aimed at yield improvements.
Conclusion
Cassava production remains heavily concentrated in a handful of countries, with Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo alone accounting for a substantial share of global output.
Thailand’s processing infrastructure, Ghana’s growing cash-crop economy, and Brazil’s domestic and export demand round out a top five that looks different from what many older articles still claim.
Pests, disease, and infrastructure gaps remain real threats across nearly every major producer, and each nation’s response will determine how the crop performs over the next decade.
Cassava’s role as both a food security staple and an industrial commodity is only growing, making accurate production data more useful than ever.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Nigeria the top producer of cassava?
Nigeria’s ideal growing climate, large smallholder farming base, and cassava’s deep role in local diets drive its production above every other country.
Is Thailand really the second-largest cassava producer?
No, the Democratic Republic of Congo currently ranks second globally, ahead of Thailand, based on the most recent FAO production data.
What challenges do major cassava producers face?
Pests, plant diseases like cassava mosaic virus, price volatility, and weak transportation infrastructure all threaten yields and farmer income across major producers.
Why does Thailand dominate cassava exports despite lower production?
Thailand converts much of its cassava into starch and dried chips for export, making it the world’s largest cassava exporter despite lower total production.
Chimeremeze Emeh is a tropical crop farmer and chemical engineer from Ntigha, Isiala Ngwa North LGA, Abia State, Eastern Nigeria, specializing in cassava and palm oil, with over 30 years of hands-on experience growing, harvesting, and processing cassava. He grows TMS series, TME 419, and local traditional varieties on his own farms and operates a small-scale cassava flour and starch production business through Cassava Pathway, which he founded as a CAMA-registered agribusiness in 2024. He is also the founder of Palm Oil Pathway, where he applies the same tropical farming expertise. His farms are located in Ntigha, Abia State.