THAILAND: Sugarcane area likely to expand
Published: 07/03/2009, 9:29:19 AM
Surging global sugar prices due to lower output in some major producing countries will likely result in higher acreage in Thailand for the 2009/10 season, according to Dow Jones.
As farmers hope to benefit from the high sugar prices, sugarcane plantation is likely to reach 6.12 million rai, or 979,200 hectares, while sugarcane output can rise to 70.53 million metric tonnes, the Bangkok Post said, citing estimates by the Office of Agricultural Economics.
Such attractive prices have led farmers in eastern provinces, among the country's major sugarcane production areas, to replace cassava and maize with sugarcane, said Suwakon Songsangthum, director of Zone 6 of the office.