Sugar From Thailand
In 2008, Thailand is set to export 5.8 million tons of sugar out of a total production of almost
7.8 million tons. Along with Brazil and India, Thailand’s sugar business is booming in spite of the fact that world sugar prices are down and an 11 million ton surplus is being forecast for 2008. Since the mid 90’s Thailand has been competing against the global sugar giants with great success on the whole, though some years have been distinctly better than others, and at one point it seemed as if the entire industry was hovering on the brink of collapse. In 2008, pundits are once more naming Thailand as a country to watch as it continues to increase both sugar cane production and global export market share. Thailand exports both raw sugar and refined sugar up to ICUMSA 45.
Thailand’s Changing Sugar Fortunes
Since the mid 90’s, Thailand has had a rocky ride with regards to its sugar industry. In 1996, Thailand was the second largest exporter of sugar in the world, exporting well over 4 million tons of sugar around the globe, with most of the sugar sold to other Asian markets. However it took less than two years for the Thai sugar industry to crumble when world sugar prices fell sharply in 1998 and 1999. In 1998, it exported only 1.3 million tons of sugar, and 1999 wasn’t much better with just under 2 million tons of sugar exported. The early years of the new millennium saw stable sugar exports hovering around the 2 million ton mark, but in recent years Thailand’s sugar exports have rallied considerably with 4.7 million tons of sugar exported in 2007, and 5. 8 million tons forecast for 2008.
The reason for this renewed success is due, in large part, to Thailand’s commitment to lowering production costs and finding new ways to be more efficient in the growing, harvesting, milling, and refining of sugar and sugar cane. Thailand’s initial successes in the sugar market were largely based on a cheap labor force and large areas of cultivatable land both being available. However as world sugar prices tumbled, wages increased, and land began to run out, Thailand was forced to follow in the steps of other successful sugar producing countries, such as Brazil, and find ways to lower production costs. One of the ways that this has been achieved is through the use of bagasse, the dry fibrous part of sugar cane, as fuel to power sugar mills. Bagasse was once discarded as a waste product, but when burned as fuel, often provides more than enough energy to power a sugar mill and refinery.
Growing Sugar Cane In Thailand
Sugar cane grown in Thailand is planted in soft soil with a medium to high fertility. Sugar cane does best in soft, light soils, but does not grow at all well in hard packed or clay soils. There are two main planting seasons in Thailand, and the time of year at which sugar cane is planted dependent on the part of Thailand in which planting is taking place, and whether the sugar cane will be irrigated or will have to depend on rain for water.
In the central regions of Thailand, sugar cane is planted from February through to April if it is to be irrigated, and from April to May if it is to be rain fed. In the northern regions of Thailand, planting season runs from October to November. Virtually all sugar cane crops grown in Thailand’s north are rain fed. There are six main types of sugar cane grown in Thailand, with various qualities that make them suitable for a range of growing conditions. Some develop sugar early, whilst others yield high levels of sucrose, and some resist various types of diseases and pests, whilst others have a shorter growing period and can be harvested more quickly.
Most sugar cane harvested in Thailand is harvested by hand. Some sugar cane farmers do use machinery to harvest their crops, but they are in the minority. Generally speaking, the sugar cane will be cut by workers, which are estimated as each being able to cut one ton of sugar cane per day on average. The cane is cut off low to the ground, and the remaining part of the cane is left in the soil to regrow into new cane. It is important that all cane cut is transported to the mill within two days at the latest, as sucrose content begins to degrade after this point.
Thai sugar mills and refineries use similar processes to mill and refine sugar as are used in Brazil and India. The harvesting and milling season in Thailand runs from November through to March.
The Thai Difference
Unlike in Brazil, where sugar cane plantations are either owned by the mill or leased by the mill, and are generally located in fields surrounding the mill, Thailand’s sugar plantations are privately owned. This means that the harvested sugar cane must travel much further to the mill for processing in Thailand than it would in Brazil. This is a negative point for the Thai sugar industry as a whole, as it makes for increased transport costs, and more middlemen for the mill to pay. However this year’s record production shows that the impact of having separate cane growers and cane mills is not enough to hold the Thai sugar industry back from posting record numbers for sugar production.
Another major difference between Thailand and some other major sugar exporting nations such as Brazil and India is the fact that Thailand is not traditionally a large sugar consuming nation. Instead of sugar, traditional Thai sweeteners include coconut sugar and products made from cassava root. For this reason, Thailand exports the bulk of its sugar, sometimes up to 70% of its total production. Of course, as Thailand becomes more Westernized, and diets in the major cities change, sugar consumption is on the rise, and per person sugar consumption within Thailand has increased more than two fold since the 1980’s.
Thailand Sugar Export
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