Thailand

Thailand's rice production accounts for a substantial amount of the country's economy and work force. The total value of Thai rice traded in 2017 was 174.5 billion baht, accounting for around 12.9 percent of total farm production. According to one estimate, rice farmers account for 16 million of Thailand's 40 million agricultural workers.

Thailand has a long history of rice cultivation. It boasts the world's fifth-largest area under rice production and is the world's second-largest rice exporter. Thailand intends to increase the amount of land accessible for rice production by 500,000 hectares (1,200,000 acres) on top of the 9.2 million hectares (23 million acres) it already has. Rice is grown on about half of Thailand's agricultural land.

Paddy production for both the main and second crops is expected to reach 27–28 million metric tons (30–31 million short tons) in the 2019–2020 season, pulled down by a decline in second crop production owing to floods and drought, according to the Thai Ministry of Agriculture. Although it is thought that only Surin, Buriram, and Sisaket Provinces can grow good grade hom mali rice, jasmine rice, a higher quality variety of rice, is the rice strain most commonly produced in Thailand. Although jasmine rice produces a lower crop yield than other forms of rice, it sells for more than twice as much as other cultivars on the global market.