July 23, 2026
 

Thailand closes US corn import deal at US$267/tonne as grower groups warn of harvest-season price damage

The September-October delivery window coincides directly with Thailand's domestic corn harvest, drawing sharp criticism from field crop traders who say the timing will suppress farmgate prices at the worst possible moment.

Thailand has concluded a purchase of feed corn from the United States for shipment in September-October 2026, with a CFR Asia reference price of US$267.43 per tonne (8.99 THB/kg) based on exchange rates of 33.65 THB per US dollar as of 16 July, trade sources told local media.

The purchase, which is to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2026, has drawn immediate criticism from Therdsak Lapjitrakul, President of the Thai Field Crops Trade Association, who said authorising US corn imports timed to arrive during Thailand's own harvest season was a serious policy mistake that would directly harm domestic corn farmers. Therdsak said abnormal market behaviour had already emerged in July, with multiple large feed operators simultaneously halting corn purchases and closing all facilities - ostensibly for low-season maintenance - leaving farmers unable to sell their output.

"In more than 50 years in this industry, I have never seen factory closures on this scale at the same time," Therdsak said. He described a pattern of deliberate purchase quota reductions - cutting daily intake from 10 truck-loads to five - designed to create supply backlogs and drive farmgate prices lower before harvest delivery.

Therdsak also highlighted a policy inconsistency he said had long frustrated the sector: Thailand prohibits its own farmers from planting GMO corn varieties, yet allows the import of GMO corn from the United States. "If they won't let us grow it but allow it to be imported, what does that mean? The shortage argument is just a pretext to buy cheap corn without any sympathy for farmers. If this is the policy, then just allow us to grow GMO corn and end the argument," he said.

He added that the 9.80 THB/kg price support scheme had not functioned as intended in practice, with farmers in the previous season receiving only 9.20 THB/kg. Corn delivered by combine harvester typically carries moisture levels of around 30%, he said, compounding the cost burden on producers already squeezed by import competition and downgrading practices at mills.

Therdsak said the combined pressure of imported corn arriving in September-October, simultaneous with the domestic harvest, the breakdown of the price support mechanism, and arbitrary quality downgrading by mills had pushed the situation to breaking point. He said he was considering resigning as association president, having concluded the government was unwilling to address structural problems that had worsened over more than a decade.

The US corn import deal follows eFeedLink's earlier report on the Thai Feed Mill Association's ultimatum over feed corn procurement pricing, in which association president Pornsil Patchrintanakul demanded a revision of the 9.80 THB/kg reference framework before the new season, after market prices surged to 13-14 THB/kg for much of the latter part of last season.