Thai farmers demand urgent action to combat falling crop prices

Pramote Charoensilp, president of the Thai Agriculturists Association, stated that many farmers, including those cultivating rice, cassava, oil palm and rubber, are struggling due to falling crop prices in contrast to rising cultivation costs.

For example, the price of off-season rice with humidity exceeding 25% was nearly 7,000 baht per tonne last week, compared to 9,000–10,000 baht in the past two to three years. He noted that the cultivation cost is 6,500–7,000 baht per tonne.

He advocated for the price of off-season rice with humidity above 25% to be set at 8,000 baht per tonne, adding that it is favourable that rice with humidity below 25% is priced at 10,000 baht per tonne.

Pramote highlighted that the decline in Thai rice prices was due to India resuming white rice exports in late 2024 and currently exporting in large quantities, which has reduced Thailand's exports. 

He emphasised that the Thai government has yet to introduce any measures to assist farmers, pointing out that the proposal to provide 1,000 baht per rai in aid has not yet been submitted to the Cabinet for consideration.

The Commerce Ministry claimed that it must first complete the registration of farmers, which is set to conclude on April 30, before presenting the measures and budget for Cabinet approval, he alleged.

He also criticised the Agriculture Ministry for not supporting farmers in abandoning stubble burning, as it has not provided the proposed 500 baht per rai in aid. The association has repeatedly suggested to the National Rice Policy and Management Committee on production.

He explained that if farmers are prohibited from burning rice stubble and are required to use alternative methods such as fermentation, it would take more time and incur additional costs. Moreover, he noted that ferment water, when discharged into water sources, could lead to water pollution.

He further claimed that the Rice Department has not expedited research and development of new rice varieties that are disease-resistant, yield higher productivity per rai, and meet market demands, particularly for soft rice similar to that of Vietnam.

This has led farmers to cultivate Vietnamese jasmine rice, which yields over 1,200–1,300 kilograms per rai, despite not being a certified variety, as Thai jasmine rice yields only 400–600 kilograms per rai. 

He expressed concern that Thai jasmine rice could become extinct as farmers in the Northeast are increasingly planting Vietnamese jasmine rice, which can be grown and sold twice a year, unlike Thai jasmine rice, which is cultivated and sold only once a year.

“Currently, farmers and other agriculturists are on the brink of collapse. Rice prices are plummeting daily, with some areas seeing prices drop below 7,000 baht per tonne, while costs remain high. Prices of other agricultural products are also falling,” he said. 

“If the government continues to remain inactive and fails to urgently introduce any measures, we will undoubtedly witness farmers nationwide uniting in protest.”

He noted that several farmer groups have discussed this issue with him and are mobilising. He also denied claims that politicians are backing this movement, asserting that farmers are genuinely in distress. “If farmers cannot survive, neither can the government,” he declared.

Pramote went on to say that oil palm growers are also suffering severely. Although it is currently the beginning of the oil palm harvest season, and production has just started to come in, within less than a month the price has already dropped by more than 1 baht per kilogramme.

Compared with two months ago, in February 2025, the price has fallen by more than half — from 9–10.2 baht per kilogramme to an average of 4.60–5.40 baht per kilogramme by the end of April. At the same time, the price of crude palm oil currently stands at 32.25–32.50 baht per kilogramme, down from 36.50–36.75 baht per kilogramme at the beginning of April.

Meanwhile, Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan stated that on April 23 he had discussed with Pheu Thai MPs the situation concerning the falling prices of agricultural products, notably rice, where production has increased while exports have declined following India's return to the export market.

The price of cassava has also dropped, as demand from China for cassava as a raw material has decreased. This is because China is now using maize, which is cheaper, to produce alcohol instead of cassava. In addition, the outbreak of mosaic disease has reduced the quality of cassava yields.

Pichai said that urgent measures have been outlined to enhance the quality of production and identify more favourable markets for agricultural goods, particularly key crops such as rice. 

This will require a comprehensive overhaul of the entire system, from upstream to downstream, including the promotion of rice varieties that are in high market demand, support for methods that reduce production costs, and supplementary measures to help address the problem of field burning.

The Commerce Ministry will raise these issues for presentation and discussion at the National Rice Policy and Management Committee, chaired by Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira, to urgently consider and implement necessary measures.

He added that regarding cassava, the ministry plans to integrate efforts between the public and private sectors to expand the cultivation of cassava varieties resistant to mosaic disease, in order to curb the outbreak and increase production yields. Efforts will also be made to expand export markets beyond China.