NAKHON RATCHASIMA: Sugarcane planters in this northeastern province are suffering from low sugarcane prices and a shortage of labour, according to local media reports.
The price of sugarcane for the 2018-2019 season announced recently was only about 680 baht per tonne, mainly due to the sugar surplus in the world market.
Planters said the prices are too low and do not meet production costs.
The problem has been augmented by the shortage of manpower to harvest sugarcane as local workers have gone to work in factories that pay more than the daily minimum wage. This has forced planters to spend more on hiring machines to harvest their produce and for delivery and fuel costs.
Lim Somdee, a surgarcane planter at Ban Nikhom Pattana in tambon Rangka Yai of Phimai district, said the chance for planters to make any profit this year is slim.
He said political parties with the potential to form a new government should have a concrete and sustainable policy to solve the problem of low prices of agricultural products.
The prices of sugarcane should be 1,000-1,200 baht per tonne to enable planters to make ends meet, Mr Lim said.
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