Bad times dog Thai sugarcane farmers due to El Nino
Bad times dog Thai sugarcane farmers due to El Nino
By Anchalee Koetsawang
SUPHAN BURI, Thailand (Reuters): El Nino is an alien word to Thai sugarcane farmer Panya Chankongsuwan but the catastrophic effect of the disruptive weather phenomenon on his crops is something he is very familiar with.
A severe El Nino-induced drought, which gripped Thailand last year, devastated his crops and slashed the plantation's sugarcane output to its lowest level ever.
"As a sugarcane farmer, I had seen bad years before but this is so far the worst ever. The yield per planting area has dropped by half while the cost of production has risen," Panya said in the native drawl of Suphan Buri, a major sugar growing area located about 150 km (90 miles) north-west of Bangkok.
The land Panya, 45, was born on has been passed down the family for generations but he says he was forced to sell some of it to raise funds to meet rising production costs.
"If tears can grow sugarcane, the situation might not have been this bad," said Sawing Pookhang, another affected planter in the area, who relies on support from sugar mills to survive.
Thailand is a leading world sugar producer and exporter. On top of El Nino's recent havoc, the country is also weathering its worst economic crisis in decades.
With 80 percent to 90 percent of cane plantations not irrigated and heavily dependent on rainfall, sugarcane is perhaps one of the hardest hit cash crops in the country.
El Nino's effects have prompted Thailand's Cane and Sugar Board to revise down cane output projection for this crushing season (November-June) to 42 million tons from 44.56 million tons earlier.
Sugar planters were, until the drought hit, considered some of the most secure farmers in the country as the industry here operates on a complex but well-managed profit-sharing system between growers and millers.
Cane supply is so short that during a recent mill visit for journalists, executives had to ask mill workers to suspend crushing until the visitors arrived to ensure there was enough cane to put on a show.
"Sorry but we had to do this, otherwise we would not be sure if we had enough cane to show you what crushing operations are like. It is a catastrophe this year," said Supanit Manajit, an executive at Thai sugar giant Mitr Phol Sugar Corp.
Supanit said many mills were expected to end crushing operations prematurely due to supply shortages.
The effect on sugar exports has been just as disastrous.
Thailand's exports this year are expected to plummet to around 2.4 million tons from more than 4.0 million tons in 1997 due to the severe cane shortage.
But El Nino, a periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific, is not the only bane to Thailand's sugar industry.
Poor crop management, lack of government support and higher production costs have also eroded the industry's competitiveness, industry officials said.
Isara Vongkusolkit, president of Mitr Phol Sugar Corp., said if the problems were not addressed, Thailand's competitive edge in the world market could erode fast.
"The government should chip in more to help. If they had supported sugarcane planters on water resources, for example, the impact of the drought might not have been this bad," he said.
"The government should pay more attention to farmers -- disseminate new know-how and information on productivity improvement, supply them with water resources and help in soil development," Isara said.
"Poor farm management is one of the factors that make our production costs higher than they should be."
Although Thailand is a top exporter, its sugar yield per hectare is ranked one of the lowest globally.
The average yield per hectare between 1987/88 and 1991/92 crop was only 50 tons compared with 79.8 tons in major producer Australia and 135 tons in Colombia.
Successful cane planter Prasit Chotivejsilp told Reuters most planters were left to farm without knowledge of how to improve efficiency.
"I saw some planters making mistakes when preparing the soil by not raking it deep enough to maximize soil moisture and using unsuitable fertilizer," he said.
Suphan Buri planters and industry sources agreed.
"I have not seen any commitment from the government in terms of technology development. It's a live and let live mentality out there," said an official at the Thai Cane and Sugar Corp.
"And joint efforts by the private sector and the government to set up a research institute to improve productivity so far have moved at a snail's pace," he said.