ขายข้าว - ขายปุ๋ย

ขายข้าว - ขายปุ๋ย

I try to recall Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister saying about the low price for rice and the high price for fertilizers. He said something like "(ทำไมยังขายข้าว) ทำไมไม่ขายปุ๋ย" or "(ทำไมยังปลูกข้าว) ทำไมไม่ทำปุ๋ยขาย". Afterward he apologized and said he was merely joking. But I remember I made notes about world rice production some time before and his words bear truth about Thailand's rice production. The graphs and notes below may shine some light into the issue.

[Data for Thailand extracted from ricepedia.org; Thailand is producing more rice than nedded domestically by some 10 million tons. Export of milled is one answer. (Processed) Rice products can be beneficial to Thailand economy (if R&D is encouraged) ]

Though currently farmers are enjoying domestic marketing. Thailand still needs to export rice.

[Data for Thailand extracted from ricepedia.org; The graph shows increase in rice growing area and many-fold increase in use of fertilizer, in comparison to the slight increase in yield (per unit area). ]

The use of fertilizer does not return proportinally in yield!

Notes

I offer my thoughts below
1) world production is roughly equal to world consumption; price should be more stable.
2) most production in the northern hemisphere at one harvest time this leads to market glut (and storage; price; competition) problems.
3) TH most growers do not consider world markets (and prices) for rice in their plans
4) TH increase in use of fertilizer is hundred times more than increase in yield
5) TH use of pesticides is increasing (in paddy and after harvest); residues will end up int the Gulf of Thailand
6) TH domestic market can fragment rice growers and lead to harsh competitions
7) TH rice quality assurance will become a major issue for demestic market and growers; this is due to marketing; rice varieties and chemical residues.

Some references:

IRRI - Trends in global rice consumption
irri.org/rice-today/trends-in-global-rice-consumption
Rice is a staple for nearly half of the world's seven billion people. However, more than 90% of this rice is consumed in Asia, where it is a staple for a majority of ...

• Total global rice consumption 2016 | Statistic
https://www.statista.com › Industries › Agriculture › Farming
This statistic shows total rice consumption worldwide from 2008/2009 to 2015/2016. In 2013/2014, some 477.91 million metric tons of rice were consumed ...

Rice consumption by country 2016 | Statista
https://www.statista.com › Industries › Agriculture › Farming
This statistic depicts the rice consumption worldwide in 2015/2016, by country. According to the source, the rice consumption in Bangladesh amounted to about

[Rice consumption worldwide (est) 2016: 483 Mt (about the same as worldwide production)]