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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Cassava Starch for Export in Nigeria during the Second World War
Author:Falola, ToyinISNI
Year:1989
Periodical:African Economic History
Volume:18
Pages:73-98
Language:English
Geographic term:Nigeria
Subjects:exports
cassava
World War II
Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment
History and Exploration
colonialism
Economics and Trade
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/3601753
Abstract:This paper examines the export of cassava starch from Nigeria during the Second World War. In Europe, cassava starch, like maize and potato starch, was used in the preparation of dextrine and as the basis for industrial and other adhesives. During the 1930s, the main sources of cassava starch were Java and, to some extent, Brazil. During the war, it became necessary to seek additional sources of cassava starch because of the difficulties in obtaining adequate supplies from Java and Brazil. From January 1941 to April 1943, Nigeria's cassava starch exports witnessed a boom. The export of starch had three major effects: it enabled participants to make additional earnings; it encouraged scientific research in order to improve the quality of starch production and diversify the uses of cassava; and it pushed up the price of 'gari', a major cassava foodstuff. The trade in cassava starch collapsed in 1943, at a time when its production had become popular. The collapse resulted from the imperial government's attempt to protect the trade in palm products. In the context of the economic history of colonial rule, the collapse fits into the theory of the unpredictability of the international market in export commodities. Notes, ref.
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