Agriculture in Thailand

Thai farmer with rice seedlings
Agricultural areas near Bangkok
Land cultivated by the Karen tribe in northern Thailand: controlled burn in the foreground and agricultural terraces.

Agriculture in Thailand is highly competitive, diversified and specialized and its exports are very successful internationally. Rice is the country's most important crop, with some 60 percent of Thailand's 13 million farmers growing it[1] on almost half of Thailand's cultivated land.[2] Thailand is a major exporter in the world rice market. Rice exports in 2014 amounted to 1.3 percent of GDP.[3] Agricultural production as a whole accounts for an estimated 9–10.5 percent of Thai GDP.[4] Forty percent of the population work in agriculture-related jobs.[5] The farmland they work was valued at US$2,945/rai ($18,410/ha; $7,450/acre) in 2013.[6]: 9  Most Thai farmers own fewer than eight ha (50 rai) of land.[7]

Other agricultural commodities produced in significant amounts include fish and fishery products, tapioca, rubber, grain, and sugar. Exports of industrially processed foods such as canned tuna, pineapples, and frozen shrimp are on the rise.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference BP-20170206 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Poapongsakorn, Nipon; Chokesomritpol, Phunjasit (30 June 2017). "Agriculture 4.0: Obstacles and how to break through". Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI). Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  3. ^ Lee, Brendon (20 July 2015). "Prolonged Thailand drought threatens global rice shortage". SciDev.net. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Agriculture, value added (% of GDP)". The World Bank. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  5. ^ Luedi, Jeremy (23 January 2016). "Extreme drought threatens Thailand's political stability". Global Risk Insights. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  6. ^ Attavanich, Witsanu (September 2013). "Witsanu Attavanich". 7th International Academic Conference Proceedings. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  7. ^ Piesse, Mervyn (1 November 2017). "Thai Farmers Oppose National Water Resources Bill: Are Rougher Political Conditions Ahead?". Future Directions International. Retrieved 2 November 2017.