December 7, 2007

Thailand farmers switch from tobacco crops to corn

Thailand's tobacco plantations in eight northern provinces dropped this year as farmers are attracted by the higher prices of other crops, particularly corn.

Chiang Mai Tobacco Growers Association president Wiwat Saraithong said the corn price this year is up by 50 percent to about US$0.19 per kilogramme, due to the demand from ethanol producers.

Tobacco plantation areas were never constant as some land was diverted for other crops, Wiwat added.

Farmers spend six months a year to grow tobacco and clear the land for the next-round plantation, against two or three months for corn, a farmer explained.

Tobacco is one agricultural crop threatened by fuel crops, which are gaining popularity among farmers on the back of skyrocketing oil prices.

Businessmen earlier expressed concern that if oil prices remain high as they have this year, more plantation areas would be reserved for fuel crops, leaving little area to grow food crops.

Wiwat said Thailand farmers had been encouraged to plant other crops due to lower rain in the North as well as stable tobacco prices.