BANGKOK, 21 July 2015 – The Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE) has revealed that drought crisis has caused the agricultural economy to contract by 4.2% during the first half of this year.
OAE Secretary-General Lersak Riewtrakulpaiboon said exports of farm goods from Thailand during the same period declined by as much as 9.4% despite better global economy.
The weaker Thai baht and sharp decline in global oil prices have so far this year not boosted the demand for Thai goods , of which the value dropped by 9.4% on year.
According to the OAE Secretary-General, cheaper prices of crude oil have prompted African and Middle Eastern countries to lower their imports of Thai products.
The ongoing water shortages have also contributed to lower supplies of produce to domestic markets, Mr. Lersak said. However, seafood, livestock and forest products industries remain unaffected and continue to expand.
