SECTOR CAPABILITIES - Cassava flour
Cassava flour is an excellent gluten-, grain- and nut-free alternative for bakery products due to its neutral flavor and powdery texture. These characteristics make cassava flour an excellent replacement for wheat flour in the food industry as well as in home recipes.
If compared to other paleo and gluten-free flours, cassava flour delivers better baking results without the nutritional drawbacks of other alternative products like high arsenic content in rice flour or phytates (antinutrients) in almond and garbanzo flour.
High-quality cassava flour is one of the main cassava derivates in Ghana, with almost 3,400 metric tons exported in 2020; more than two times the volume exported in 2016.
The use of improved cassava varieties with low cyanide content, together with low chemical agricultural practices, makes the Ghanaian cassava flour an excellent alternative for the food industry but also for households looking for healthy flour alternatives.
Ghana is the second leading producer of cassava in Africa and the fifth in the world accounting for more than 22 million metric tons in 2019 production season, representing 7.56% of global output. Over 1 Million hectares are currently destinated to cassava production, engaging around 70% of the farmers in the country.
Due to the extensive availability of the raw material and the little capital investment required for the production of cassava flour, Ghanaian producers are ready to scale up their production to meet the needs of the international markets.
In 2020, the US was the main destination of Ghanaian cassava flour exports concentrating over 30% of the total value, followed by the UK with 27%, Netherlands with 18 and Canada with 13%.
The production of cassava flour in Ghana is part of a strong value chain supported by national and international organizations, providing constant improvement of the plant material, agricultural practices and processing methods. Therefore, Ghana can be a strategic partner for the supply of this product.
Reasons to buy
Ghanaian cassava flour provides the following benefits:
- Excellent alternative for gluten, grain, nut-free and paleo diets
- Outstanding replacement for wheat flour in bakery products
- Low chemical usage in the cassava production over other suppliers worldwide
- Use of cassava varieties with very low cyanide content
- Geographic proximity to Europe
- Easy scalability of production
- Zero import tariff in the EU
- Growth potential due to wide availability of cassava all year round
- Strong institutional support of the cassava sector
- R&D programs in the whole value chain
- National and International actors involved in the improvement of the sector
Trade performance
Featured exporters
Cotton-Weblink Portfolio Ltd.
Cotton-Weblink Portfolio Ltd. is a limited liability company incorporated in Ghana in 2002. The company is headquartered in Somanya in Ghana’s Eastern Region and is a subsidiary of the Manogo City and FMSL Ghana Ltd. group of companies. Since 2007, the company has been Global G.A.P. certified, under Option 1…Show: Cotton-Weblink Portfolio Ltd.
Neat Foods Company Limited
Neat Foods range of products, are produced from fresh carefully selected farm produce of high quality. NEAT FOODS commenced yam processing in 2009. In addition to yam, it processes a range of flours – cassava flour and plantain flour. The company belongs to a larger holding company, which owns a…Show: Neat Foods Company Limited
Maphlix Trust Ghana Limited
Maphlix Trust Ghana Limited is one of the players in the food production and processing industry of Ghana. We are engaged in the production and sale of varied food crops in vegetable, grain, root and tubers categories. Apart from the production and export of some major food crops such as…Show: Maphlix Trust Ghana Limited
Useful links
Ghana Root Crops and Tubers Exporters Union (GROCTEU)
GROCTEU associates the exporters of roots and tubers in Ghana and supports its members in improving their processes to achieve international standards, provides market intelligence and information on finance and equipment for the sector.
Ghana Cassava Centre of Excellence (GCCE)
Ghana Cassava Centre of Excellence is a non-profit, nongovernmental organization to strengthen innovations for Sustainable Development of Cassava Value Chain in Ghana, from research on crop production through to post-harvest handling, marketing, processing and consumption undertaken through a mix of innovative approaches.
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is a national science and technology institution in Ghana created to implement government policies on scientific research and development, coordinate R&D activities in the CSIR and other S&T institutions nationwide and assist the government in the formulation of S&T policies for national development.