Bangkok: Rice production in Thailand is likely to remain lower in the marketing year 2022-23 due to floods.
The latest Global Agricultural Information Network report of the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Services (FAS) has revised the crop output from 20 million tonnes to 19.9 million tonnes.
The fragrant rice harvest has been delayed to October end or early November due to floods. The weakening of the Thai baht against the US dollar and increasing foreign demand would benefit rice exporters. They still face the challenges of high freight costs in 2022.
Rice grown on over 84,998 hectares was damaged due to the floods caused on September 29 in the Chao Pharaya, Chi and Man river basins, as per the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative.
The report further stated that the officials are closely monitoring the impact of the floods on the rice-producing regions in these river basins in the northeastern regions where rice crops are undergoing the reproduction stage and transitioning to the ripening stage.
