Lower water supply and insect infestation in key rice regions has prompted Thailand to cut its second crop forecast by nearly 16%, which, combined with strong demand, should support prices in 2010, officials say.
Thailand may only produce about 7 million tonnes of paddy from its second crop rather than 8.3 million tonnes forecast earlier, a senior agriculture official said yesterday.
"We have revised down the second crop's production since there are some negative factors that could cut rice yields," said Apichart Jongsakul, secretary-general of the Office of Agricultural Economy.
That means the overall 2009/10 rice crop could total 29 million tonnes of paddy, down from the previous forecast of 31 million, he said.
It was also lower than the 2008/09 crop of 31.4 million tonnes and could add to upward pressure on world prices.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in its latest forecast that world rice imports in 2010 could rise to 30.5 million tonnes, up from 30.3 million tonnes in 2009, mostly on demand from Asian countries, several of which would need to compensate for poor 2009 harvests.
Mr Apichart said the forecast cut was prompted by drought in central Thailand, a major rice-producing area, and an infestation of insects known as planthoppers in the North and Northeast.
"Lower water supply in several reservoirs automatically cut rice-planting areas and the spread of planthoppers was an additional negative factor," Mr Apichart said.
Source: Bangkok Post
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