Cassava pellets explained: hard pellets vs residue pellets, grades, feed uses and what buyers check

Two products behind one name

Other names you will see in trade for root-based pellets are tapioca pellets and manioc pellets. Residue pellets are also called cassava pulp pellets or tapioca residue.

This article covers root-based cassava hard pellets. Residue pellets are a separate product and are not covered further here.

From root to hard pellet

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is a tropical root crop grown mainly for its starch. For feed, the roots are sliced into chips and dried in the sun or in mechanical dryers. Pellets are then “obtained from dried and broken roots by grinding and hardening into a cylindrical shape”, typically about 2–3 cm long and 0.4–0.8 cm in diameter [4].

Feedipedia lists the main cassava feed forms as fresh roots, dried chips, root meal, pellets and hard pellets [1]. Pelleting gives a product that is 25–40% denser, more uniform, more durable, less dusty and easier to handle than chips [1, 4]. Hard pellets, an industrial improvement on earlier pellet types, became prominent in the early 1980s [1]. The difference from soft pellets is the process: hard pellets get adequate heat treatment, which gelatinises part of the starch, and they store longer and survive shipping and handling better, which is why they became the standard for large-scale industrial and export markets [5].

Hardness tells you about the pellet, not the raw material

Because “hard” describes the pellet, it says nothing about what went into it. Residue can also be pressed into firm pellets, and an FAO review notes that pellet production in one major exporting country “often involves incorporation of pulp wastes particularly from the starch industries” [5].

For a buyer this has one practical consequence: hardness and appearance do not tell you whether a lot was made from whole roots, from residue, or from a mix. Two things do. The first is the supplier’s written declaration of the raw material. The second is the analysis — starch, crude fibre, ash and moisture on the specification and the certificate of analysis. The analysis cannot prove what the recipe was or in what proportion, but a lot that is off its specification on starch or fibre is a signal to ask questions before the goods are accepted. For mixed material, the customs heading also has to be confirmed against the actual composition and the classification rules of the importing country, not assumed from the product name.

How cassava hard pellets are graded

Hard pellets from whole roots are traded mainly on starch content, because starch is what the buyer is paying for as an energy source.

• Standard feed grade. Export cassava pellets are commonly described as containing more than 65% starch [2], so “65% starch” is a common commercial reference point. What is actually guaranteed for a given lot is whatever the supplier’s signed specification says.
• Higher starch grades. Cassava peel is more than twice as fibrous as the root pulp, so peeling the roots before drying removes fibre and improves energy digestibility [1]. Whether a higher starch grade is reached also depends on the roots, the drying and the process; ask the supplier how each grade is produced and what the signed specification guarantees.

For customs purposes, heading 07.14 of the Harmonized System covers manioc (cassava) roots, including in the form of pellets, under subheading 0714.10 [6], while residues of starch manufacture fall under heading 23.03, subheading 2303.10 [7]. The national subheading after the first six digits varies by country, and mixed or further-processed material has to be classified on its actual composition under the rules of the importing country.

Where cassava hard pellets fit in feed formulas

Root-based pellets are an energy source that can partly replace cereal grains. Feedipedia summarises inclusion levels reported in the literature for cassava root products [1]:

These are literature values for cassava root products, not recommendations, and they do not apply to residue pellets. Actual inclusion depends on the rest of the formula, the quality of the material and the nutritionist’s targets.

The constraints to plan for

• Low protein. Cassava roots typically contain less than 3% protein, so diets using cassava pellets need protein and amino acids from other ingredients [1].
• Hydrocyanic acid (HCN). Cassava contains cyanogenic compounds. Drying and processing reduce them. Two kinds of figure are in circulation and should not be mixed up. As a nutritional reference, Feedipedia notes that roots with less than 100 mg/kg HCN in dry matter are considered safe for use in animal diets [1]. Separately, the EU sets a legal maximum for hydrocyanic acid in feed materials, including manioc products, in Directive 2002/32/EC, expressed relative to feed at 12% moisture [3]. A nutritional reference on a dry-matter basis is not a legal limit, and a figure on one moisture basis cannot be compared with a figure on the other without conversion; check the limit that applies in your market and the basis on which it is expressed.
• Dust and palatability. Finely ground cassava can reduce palatability in poultry; pelleting reduces this problem [1].
• Fibre. Unpeeled roots carry more fibre than peeled roots [1], and residue products carry more still [4]. This matters for monogastric diets.

What buyers check before ordering

A practical checklist for purchasing and QA teams:

1. The raw material, stated in writing: whole roots (peeled or unpeeled), residue, or a blend. This tells you which product you are buying and is the starting point for customs classification.
2. A signed specification with guaranteed limits (minimum starch; maximum moisture, fibre and ash) and the test method for each parameter.
3. A certificate of analysis for every lot, not just a one-off sample result. Compare starch and fibre with the specification; a lot that is off-specification is a signal to query the raw material.
4. HCN and contaminants — heavy metals, mycotoxins and pesticide residues — against the limits of your market, with third-party testing available on request.
5. Physical quality: pellet size, durability and hardness, since these affect dust and breakage in transit.
6. Manufacturing site certification (for example ISO 22000 or HACCP) and lot traceability back to the raw material.
7. Packing and shipping: bulk in a lined container or jumbo bags; moisture control for the sea voyage; fumigation where the importing country, the buyer or the pest-control plan requires it.