Roots are consumed fresh in most of Colombia and Paraguay, and sporadically elsewhere. In the Caribbean and northeastern South America, roots are ground into a mash, which is partially dried and formed into large flat breads called casabe . These are toasted on a griddle and may be stored for several weeks. Modern industries are now developing around the animal feed and starch markets. This is a growing market and several countries, especially Colombia, Paraguay, Venezuela and Brazil are increasing their capacity to produce and use cassava starch.
Leaves are high in protein, and supplement diets as a vegetable in Northeast Brazil.
Farmers commonly dry leaves and use them on-farm in animal feeding. International trade has been restrained by high competition from Asia, where production and processing costs are lower, and there is an efficient marketing infrastructure. Fresh root export to developed countries is a small but growing market. Little cassava is traded internationally to or from the Americas. Curiously, most of the current trade is based on export of fresh roots from Costa Rica, overall a minor cassava producer in the region.