Tapioca production grinds to a halt
Tapioca production grinds to a halt
The country's major tapioca producer, the Lao Indochina Group Public Company tapioca factory, has halted operations for over two months to service its machines, perform maintenance, and train staff.
The plant, in Pakngum district of Vientiane, stopped production yesterday.
“We will resume production again on October 1 when farmers harvest their crops and supply our factory as normal,” the factory's Director, Mr Douangdy Phommachan, said yesterday.
Mr Douangdy said the factory had warned farmers in advance they would be stopping production temporarily.
Another reason for calling a halt to production is because cassava is of poor quality in the wet season and only yields a small quantity of powder at this time of the year.
It is very difficult for farmers to harvest cassava in the wet season due to muddy conditions and transport problems; it is also the planting season.
The plant often stops production in the wet season and does not have tapioca for domestic or export markets at this time of the year.
When the plant becomes operational again, Lao Indochina Group will start up local sales and export immediately because customers are waiting for their orders to be filled.
Other factories producing cassava powder in domestic and neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Vietnam also face similar problems at this time of the year.
The factories in Laos that manufacture tapioca are located in Lau-ngam district in Saravan province, Meun district in Vientiane province, and in Champassak province. They produce for both local and overseas customers.
The Lao Indochina Group tapioca factory is located on 75 hectares of land and employs about 300 people.
The plant has two production lines turning out 320 tonnes of tapioca from 1,200 tonnes of cassava each day. “We will have four production lines by November,” Mr Douangdy said.
Some 90 percent of the factory's output is exported to China whilst the rest is sold on the domestic market.
Tapioca powder is found in noodles, snack foods and seasonings. It is also used in the production of clothes, glue, paint, paper, medicine, false teeth and prosthetic limbs.
vientiane times
