BANGKOK, 7 November 2014 – The Ministry of Commerce has drawn up new strategies to be applied to the cultivation of four economic crops and is set to forward them to the joint public-private committee for review next week.
Commerce Minister Gen Chatchai Sarikalya stated that the responsible subcommittee has concluded details of the 12-year strategies for four types of economic crops, namely sugarcane, cassava, oil palm and maize. Set to be implemented from 2015 to 2026, the strategies aim to expand sugarcane plantations from 10 million rai to 16 million, increase the total yield from 100 million tons to 180 million and push up the value of cane and sugar industry from 200 billion baht to 450 billion.
Areas for growing cassava will be increased from 8 million rai to 8.5 million, with the output doubling to 7 million tons per rai. Meanwhile, there will be 7.5 million rai of oil palm plantations, as opposed to the current 4.5 million, and 7.4 million rai of corn fields, increasing from 7 million.
The strategies will be submitted to the joint public-private committee to consider within next week before being included in the Cabinet meeting agenda on a later occasion. Once approved, these strategies will be incorporated into an action plan for related agencies in the agricultural sector to follow.
