It seems the drought conditions that threatened the rice production in Thailand are over. The worst drought in the last decade had put a lot of pressure on Thailand’s economy. Seven out of 67 provinces were declared drought hit around two weeks ago, now these provinces have been declared drought free by the authorities.
This is due to good rainfall over the region during the last week. There are some regions which are yet to receive rain. The drought was a result of multiple typhoons which had formed over the Pacific and had sucked in all the moisture from the region. This resulted in subdued rainfall activity over Thailand.
Although the seven provinces have been declared drought free still water scarcity remains. This is due to scanty rainfall over the region. The matter is of concern because this is the rainy season and the farmers look to sow their crops in this season. The authorities have advised farmers to delay the planting of their staple crop until August. This is being done to conserve water. Thailand is the world’s second largest exporter of rice after India. There is a weak global demand and together with the drought, the exports will be 9.5 million tonnes this year which is lower than the last year's figure of 10 million tonnes.
The authorities will be releasing water from the dams to help farmers who have already planted their crops. Earlier this month the government approved around $1.77 billion as loan to help farmers who were affected by the drought.
Image credit: greenpeace.org
