Bangkok: The sugarcane output for the 2022-23 crop year in Thailand is estimated to be below expectations due to drought and farmers turning away from cane cultivation, as per the Office of the Cane and Sugar Board (OCSB), reports Vietnamplus.
The output for the 2022-23 crop year has increased from 1.9% to 93.8 million tonnes.
The government was expecting that sugarcane production would exceed 100 tonnes in the crop year, said Panuwat Triyangkunsri, Secretary-General of the OCSB.
The increase in input costs and drought have been attributed to the lower sugarcane output. Farmers are shifting to cassava cultivation due to high input costs.
Sugarcane having commercial cane sugar (CCS) sweetness level of 13.3 was supplied to 57 sugar mills across the country from December 1 2022 to April 6, 2023. Of the total 93.8 million tonnes of sugarcane, 63.1 million tonnes (67.2%) was fresh cane while 30.7 million tonnes (32.7%) was burned.
Farmers burn cane as they feel it is an easier way than harvesting the crop.
