Thai sugar output could fall as much as 12.5% next season - Bangkok Post

A farm worker loads harvested sugar cane onto a truck in Suphan Buri. (Photo: Bangkok Post) Sugar production in Thailand, the world's second-largest exporter of ​the commodity after Brazil, is ‌expected to fall 12.5% to 10.5 million tonnes in the 2026/27 season, an industry official said.

The forecast drop is a result of drought, higher input ​costs and farmers ⁠switching to cassava, said Thawat Hamarn, director of strategy and planning at the Office of the Cane and Sugar Board.

Sugarcane ‌output is expected to decline 9.5% to about 95 million tonnes from 105 million tonnes last season, according to Mr Thawat, referring to the ⁠2026/27 harvest that is expected to run from December through April.

Farmers have faced higher fertiliser costs, and cane prices have not been attractive enough, prompting some growers to switch to more profitable crops, ​said Naradhip Anantasuk, manager of the Thai Sugarcane Planters Federation.

Global sugar prices have risen amid expectations that drought ​could ‌reduce production in Thailand, India and Brazil, according to Mr Naradhip.

But prices would need to reach around ​21 ⁠to 22 cents per pound for farmers to cover their costs, Mr Naradhip said, compared to ⁠current prices of around 18 to 19 cents.

In Khon Kaen, cane production could ⁠fall to 1.8 million tonnes, a local official ​said, compared to 5.86 million tonnes last season.

"Inconsistent rainfall, farmers' debt burdens and disease outbreaks would lead to lower cane production," said Chairat Kittivarapol, an ‌official with a ⁠sugarcane growers' association in the ​province.