Cassava farmers in trouble as ethanol demand refuses to take off

In Vietnam, cassava-based ethanol factories have cut production as demand falls, leaving farmers in a tight spot with no market to sell their crops into. Even though E5, which was introduced in August 2010, is cheaper than 92 octane gasoline at the pump, demand has been so low that 90% of E5 produced is exported. The huge increase in cassava planting without the ethanol market to support it has led local market prices for cassava to crash to only half its previous value.