A Thai farmer growing rice (Source: Bangkok Post) Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand’s Royal Irrigation Department (RID) expects more rain this year and a harvest of 24 million tonnes of rice in the 2020-2021 crop.
The Rice Policy and Management Committee believes that between November 2019 and April 2020, the Chao Phraya River basin will have 5.5 billion cubic metres of water, which would cover 59 percent of the country’s water supply.
It decided to boost rice crops in the 2020-2021 period by allocating more than 9.5 million ha to the grain, including 4.4 million ha for jasmine rice, over 330,000 ha for Pathum Thani rice, more than 2.15 million ha for normal rice, 2.6 million ha for sticky rice, and about 90,000 ha for other types.
RID Director General Thongplew Kongjan said this farmland is expected to produce up to 24.65 million tonnes.
As the second-largest rice exporter in the world, behind India, Thailand expects to ship 7-8 million tonnes worth 4.2 billion USD this year - the lowest level in seven years./.
VNA
