Thailand says sugar crop affected by drought

Rangsit hyangrat, director of the Thai sugar millers sugar production company, said that sugar production in Thailand will decrease by about a fifth in the next harvest season, due to severe drought, which will put more pressure on the global market.

“Production will decrease by 18 percent to reach about nine million tons in the 24/2023 season,” Rangsit said, according to Bloomberg News.

“The extreme heat and drought are likely to intensify further in the coming years,”Rangsit said in a telephone interview.

“Some farmers may switch to cassava cultivation,” said Rangsit, hoping that the crop will withstand the heat better.

“With this kind of drought, I doubt any crop will grow well,”Rangsit added.

Thailand is the second largest sugar exporter in the world, so the decline in production will put more pressure on the global market. Extreme heat in India is also contributing to the sugar crisis, highlighting how climate change is affecting global food markets.
Rangsit expects the country’s sugar exports to fall to six million tons next year compared to eight million tons this year.
In a related context, the Investment Board of Thailand announced the receipt of investment applications worth THB 30 billion “843 million dollars” from Taiwanese electronics manufacturers during the first eight months of this year.
“The applications were divided between the various projects last August,” Bloomberg News quoted Narit terdistyraskudi, secretary general of the Investment Board, as saying.