THAILAND (31 May)
Planting of the 2003 main season crops and harvesting of the second season paddy crop are underway. Paddy production in 2003 is forecast at 27 million tonnes, about 1.1 million tonnes higher than the peak in 2001, mainly due to normal weather conditions this year and price-led expansion in area. Thailand, the world largest rice exporter, is expected to export 7.5 million tonnes rice in 2003/04, virtually unchanged from the previous year.
The 2003 maize crop is estimated at 4.28 million tonnes, 1.6 percent above the previous crop due to favourable weather and a shift in area from unattractive crops like sugar cane. Thailand used to be a large maize exporter, but has changed to a small exporter or importer recently due to declining production and increasing domestic feed demand.