April 18, 2012

Thailand's January-February corn exports down 65% on-year

Thailand's corn exports during the first two months of the year dropped 65% on year due to a Thai ban on Cambodian corn and other agricultural products, officials claimed Monday (Apr 16).

January and February exports fell to 2,333 tonnes from 6,694 a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

"This year, the [Thai regulations] for the import of agricultural goods were very strict. It's different from last year," Chan Nora, secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce, said Monday.

Export value, however, was buoyed by increased corn prices, data showed.

Corn exports in the first two months of the year were worth US$285,576, an increase of about 1% on the same period last year. The majority of Cambodia's corn exports go to Thailand and Vietnam.

Sa Chamroeun, president of Chamroeun Company in Pailin province, said his company saw a 30% decrease in corn exports to Thailand as farmers have continued to trade corn for cassava cultivation.

"Our collection of corn dropped about 30% early in the year because farmers grew a lot of cassavas last year," he said.

Reports this week from farmers in Cambodia's northwest were mixed on cultivation trends. While some companies reported a continued flock to cassava despite a Thai ban on the plant, others reported the high price of corn attracting an increasing number of growers.