Economics
Top Rice Exporter Sees Crop at Two-Decade Low on Water Shortage
- A smaller harvest in Thailand may tighten global supply
- Farmers may need to cut plantings and switch to other crops
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Rice production in Thailand may plunge to the lowest level in 19 years as dry weather may prompt the world’s largest shipper to further restrict plantings to preserve water supply.
Output of rough rice may decline to as low as 22.98 million metric tons in 2015-16, the least since 1996-97, assuming there is no planting during the dry season starting in November, Thailand’s Office of Agricultural Economics said in an e-mailed reply to Bloomberg questions on Tuesday. That’s down 30 percent from 32.62 million tons a year earlier.