Thai 2011-12 second rice crop delayed, output seen up

Severe floods will delay Thailand's 2011/12 second rice crop by around 2 months but production is likely to rise from last year as farmers are trying to grow more grain to offset losses from the main crop, an Agriculture Ministry official said on Tuesday.
Harvesting of the second crop normally starts in February but is more likely to begin in April next year as flooding has delayed sowing, Apichart Jongsakul, head of the Office of Agriculture Economy, told Reuters. "Production from the second crop was expected to reach 10 million tonnes of paddy as farmers expanded their planting areas to grow more rice," he said.
Output from the second crop varies widely but 10 million tonnes of unmilled rice is at the top end of the range. Last year it was roughly 9 million tonnes, Apichart said. The higher output from the second crop would help offset the loss of around 6 million tonnes of paddy caused by the worst flooding in more than 50 years, which inundated parts of the country for months from late July.
Apichart said the high intervention price set by the government this year was another reason why farmers were growing more rice. The government, which won an election in July by a landslide, helped by populist policies, is buying paddy rice from farmers at 15,000 baht ($480) per tonne, well above the current market price of 9,000-10,000 baht.
The policy is aimed at supporting the millions of Thais who depend on rice for a living, but it has made export prices uncompetitive and, together with the flooding, has contributed to a drop of as much as 50 percent in exports since the scheme was implemented on October 7, traders said.
Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, normally produces 23 to 25 million tonnes of paddy in its main crop, which relies on seasonal rainfall. This year it is forecast to grow 19 million tonnes. The second crop is grown mostly in well-irrigated areas in the centre of Thailand.
The total annual paddy production of 30-35 million tonnes equates to around 21-23 million tonnes of milled rice. About 8-10 million tonnes is for domestic consumption, up to 10 million tonnes is exported and the rest usually ends up in government stockpiles.