Agriculture
Agricultural commodities, processing and products
Surge in Red River hurts Vietnamese crops
After hydrologists warned last week that huge discharges of water from Chinese reservoirs upstream would flood the Hong (Red River) in the north, water levels have risen sharply, damaging ships and destroying crops. The Nong Thon Ngay Nay (Countryside Today) newspaper reported that the water discharge ...
Chemically grown vegetables remain widespread in Laos
Organic vegetables are not widely consumed in Vientiane because many people don’t give much thought to the fruits and vegetables they are eating. Awareness of organics is low because the ingestion of chemicals in food is normally at low levels and only harmful over time. Keep reading ...
Thailand's organic village scheme set for expansion
The Thai government has pitched the idea of developing the organic village scheme in a move to strengthen local communities and farmers. The scheme, organised through a partnership with the Organic Agriculture Association of Thailand, will launch in five provinces: Chiang Mai, Surin, Lampang, Phetchabun and ...
Vietnam's fruit and veg exports on track to hit $2 billion this year
Vietnam’s fruit and vegetables are getting more popular overseas with exports growing 26.5 percent annually, local media reported. In the January-September period, the revenue was estimated at over $1.4 billion, up 16.5 percent year-on-year. Keep reading ...
Thai Government tells rice farmers to choose another crop
The government has called on farmers across the country to grow plants that require less water than rice amid the ongoing risk of drought. “Farmers, for example, can grow corn-for-animal feed and pods instead,” government spokesman Maj-General Sansern Kaewkamnerd said on 4 October. Keep reading ...
Thailand to tap rice stockpile to maintain export levels
Rice exports from Thailand may be steady next year as the world’s biggest shipper taps state inventories to offset a possible decline in production amid dry weather. Keep reading ...
Vietnam fruits lose ground to Thai imports even as ASEAN threat looms
Vietnamese fruit sellers are selling more Thai vegetables, making it harder for local vegetable growers to compete. Thailand is now the largest exporter of vegetables and fruits to Vietnam after surpassing China early last year. Be, who has a fruit shop on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Can Tho, ...
Vietnam fruit farmers unprepared for ASEAN
Economist Le Dang Doanh warned that Vietnamese farm produce would face fiercer competition from other countries in the region when the ASEAN Economic Community is born at the end of this year. Keep reading ...
Thai rice illegally imported into Myanmar
As domestic rice prices increase, cheaper and higher quality rice is now being illegally imported from Thailand, Myanmar rice traders say. Speculation over rice shortages since nationwide flooding in July and August increased transportation costs in some areas, and high production costs for farmers have driven ...
Rising anger in Thailand's boom-to-bust northeast
The rural heartland of Thailand’s deposed leader Yingluck Shinawatra and her exiled billionaire brother Thaksin is hurting as a result of the military government’s economic policies, stirring discontent and the threat of protests. The removal of generous agricultural subsidies has left rice farmers in northeast Thailand ...