Besides being easy to cultivate, tapioca contains more calories than many other crops. As a
consequence, the production cost per calorie of tapioca is relatively very low, making it fit
for cultivation to feed people in developing countries with food problems in Asia, Africa and
Latin America.
Tapioca is used for making flour
Flour derived from tapioca is a perfect substitute for flour made from maize, sorghum, wheat,
etc. Tapioca flour can be used in two principle ways.
(1) Raw starch is a food ingredient, being used in the production of seasoning powder, sauces,
glucose and bakery products.
(2) Modified starch is used as feedstock by a number of non-food industries, viz., textiles,
pharmaceuticals, glue, paper and plywood.
It is used as animal feed
Tapioca has a high carbohydrate content and is therefore suitable for the production of
animal feed.
It is used for the manufacture of alcohol
Starch, which abounds in tapioca is changed into sugar through a chemical process. The sugar is
further processed into alcohol.
[Source: Green Book on Tapioca - Compiled by Ashok Kr Gupta I.A.S.]