Soaring rice prices sow hope - and trouble - for indebted Thai farmers

CHAI NAT, Thailand - After finishing her latest rice harvest, Ms Sripai Kaeo-eam hurriedly cleared her fields and planted a new crop in late August - ignoring a Thai government advisory to restrict further sowing of the grain this year to conserve water.

Instead, the amount of land under rice cultivation in Thailand decreased 14.5 per cent in August compared to the same month last year, according to previously unreported government estimates. The figure has declined every year since 2020.unsustainable farm debts and a lack of innovation, according to interviews with two experts and a review of government data.

Thailand exported 7.7 million tonnes of milled rice in 2022 to countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa, according to Krungsri Research. Successive governments have spent 1.2 trillion Thai baht on price and income interventions for rice farmers in the last decade, estimates Assoc Prof Somporn.Though prices are now high,"farmers cannot take the opportunity to produce rice," Assoc Prof Somporn said, adding that he expected output to drop around 30 per cent over the next two growing seasons due to the water shortage.

He is now pinning his hopes on Thailand's new coalition government for help."The debt has just kept increasing over time," he said.As Indian export curbs fuel global food inflation, who are the winners and losers? Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said in his first policy statement before Parliament last week that the government will seek to improve farm incomes.

The foundation for Thailand's rice sector was laid in the late 19th century during the reign of King Chulalongkorn, who promoted free trade and agricultural and land reforms, said Dr Nipon Poapongsakorn, an agricultural expert at the Thailand Development Research Institute. The amount of land under rice cultivation in Thailand decreased 14.5 per cent in August compared to the same month last year. PHOTO: REUTERS

Source: Energy Industry News (energyindustrynews.net)

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