Insight Focus
- Cane harvesting will be completed next week.
- Newly planted cane for 23/24 is struggling due to high temperatures.
- I am dissatisfied with 22/23 production given 50% of cane area did not meet expectation.
What have you been up to?
I am still harvesting cane. The harvest has been going for 3 months now and is 95% finished. 80% of the harvest has been fresh cane and 20% burnt cane.
Given that there is not much cane left to harvest around the area, the mills in Khon Kaen also expect to close in the middle of March 2023.
What stage is your crop at?
For newly planted cane of 23/24 crop season, my crop is at a growing stage. However, high temperatures mean the cane leaves are wilting.
However, there is nothing to worry about because this is common, and the crop will recover and return to its usual stage when the rain arrives.
I have also planted the cassava in the nearby area, which is now ready to harvest once the cane is completely delivered to the mills. We are waiting for the cane to be harvested so that we can begin collecting the cassava root.
What’s your biggest concern?
Given there are no diseases or pests in the cane area, the only concern now is whether Thailand will receive an extreme weather or not.
El Nino is one of the factors that I am currently monitoring because it may have an impact on the cane production in 23/24 crop season.
I am dissatisfied with the production this year given that 50% of my cane area did not meet the expectations due to less fertilizer application, which resulted in lower yield and also the abnormally low rainfall Thailand received in 2022.
If fertilizer prices begin to fall, I could have apply more fertilizer to improve the yield in 23/24 crop season.
