NAKHON SI THAMMARAT, 29 Dec 2014 – Pomelo farming in Nakhon Si Thammarat is facing a bleak future as heavy rains and inundation intensifies.
Local media reported that continuous rainfalls in the province have led to persistent inundation, causing damage to a large area of farmland and diminishing agricultural produce, particularly that of the famous Tubtim Siam pomelo.
The pomelo normally fetches up to 300-500 baht a piece and are exported to China and Hong Kong in a number of about 40,000 pieces per year.
According to one of the pomelo farmers in Nakhon Si Thammarat, about 38 rai of ‘Tubtim Siam’ pomelo, the most popular strain of the province, are suffering from the flooding situation, and farmers are using water pumps to drain floodwaters from their farmland.
The inundation and heavy rains have caused pomelo trees to shed their produce prematurely, causing no less than 200,000 baht in initial damages. The pomelo farmer expressed concern that that if the rain continued for the next 15 days, the trees could eventually die from spoiled roots.
The continuous heavy rains have forced the farmers to turn down purchase orders from China and Hong Kong, putting a dent in the annual export volume which normally stands around 40,000 per year. Both domestic and international markets are now likely to face pomelo shortages.
