KHON KAEN, 31 July 2015,The drought crisis has stymied lotus cultivation used for merit-making activities on Asarnha Bucha and Buddhist Lent in the provinces of Khon Kaen and Trang.
A lotus farm in Khon Kaen’s Mueang district revealed that supplies are low due to water shortages. In order to evenly distribute the product, the farm has set the quota for lotus flowers at 1,000 per retailer, sold at one baht apiece.
Similarly in Trang, more than 20 lotus farms were reportedly affected by severe drought conditions. As a result, lotus sales during Asarnha Bucha and Buddist Lent have substantially decreased. Currently, each farm can only sell about 300 lotuses at 4 baht apiece, a significant drop from 2,000 – 3,000 lotuses in the previous years. Lotus growers said the drought-induced shortage has cost them about 20,000 baht in revenue.
