Thailand's agricultural economy likely to grow by 4-5% in 2018

BANGKOK, November 2 (TNA) - The Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), under the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, says that the country's agricultural economy is likely to grow by 4-5 per cent year-on-year on average this year, thanks to favorable weather and water conditions. OAE Secretary-General Jariya Suthichaiya told journalists of the official assessment on November 1, acknowledging that the sound management of local farmers and agricultural institutions, including her ministry, has also boosted the Thai agricultural economy. The OAE chief reported that in the third quarter of this year alone, the Thai agricultural economy grew by 3.7 per cent year-on-year, driven maninly by the rising farm produce amid the favorable weather and water conditions and the sound management of all the relevant parties, including the application of the agri-map to the country's production of farm products for the more productive outcome. According to the senior Thai official, the farmers' income index in the third quarter of this year, thus, rose to the 140.5 level, a 1.3 per cent year-on-year increase on average. The OAE chief projected, meanwhile, that Thailand's agricultural economy should consequently grow by 4-5 per cent year-on-year on average in 2018, thanks to the expansion of all its production sectors, including those of economic crops, livestocks, fishery products, forestry and agricultural services. (TNA)