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Drought Threatens Rice Crop

10 June 2010

THAILAND – A severe drought across Thailand may cause major losses for the nation's rice farmers as the country is gripped by a worsening water crisis.

According to business journal Forbes, Thailand's rice output for the next crop could fall by as much as three million tonnes from an estimated five million.

Despite reserves of around ten per cent of output, which should be enough to prevent food shortages, the country is thought to be facing a water crisis if government stocks are not refilled and demand for water continues to rise.

Chalit Damroengsak, director general of the Royal Irrigation Department, told the news provider that 70 per cent of Thailand's water supply is used for farming, while human consumption accounts for just four per cent.

The Bangkok Post reported on Monday that the country's department of irrigation was asking farmers in the Chao Phraya Basin region to delay the planting of in-season or floating rice crops by a month as a result of the shortages.

TheCropSite News Desk

Environmental, Rice, Water

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