From Thailand's ranking as the world's second-largest sugar exporter, a sweet success story with over $2.1 billion in annual export revenue, to the sobering drought-driven declines of the 2022/2023 season—where raw sugar production plummeted 18% and average yields fell sharply—this blog post delves into the challenges, economic impact, and innovative resilience of the nation's crucial sugar industry.
Key Takeaways
- Thailand produced 7.8 million metric tons of raw sugar in the 2022/2023 marketing year, down 18% from the previous year due to drought impacts
- Sugarcane crushing volume in Thailand reached 92.3 million tons in 2022/2023, a 20% decline from 115.6 million tons in 2021/2022
- Average sugarcane yield in Thailand was 3.2 tons per rai in 2022/2023, compared to 3.8 tons per rai in the prior year
- Thailand exported 4.2 million metric tons of raw sugar in 2022/2023, capturing 12% of global trade
- Sugar exports value reached $2.1 billion USD in 2022
- Top destination for Thai sugar was China, importing 1.8 million tons in 2022/2023
- Thailand's domestic sugar consumption was 2.2 million tons in 2022/2023
- Per capita sugar consumption in Thailand averaged 35 kg in 2022
- Beverage industry consumed 800,000 tons of sugar in 2022
- Sugar contribution to GDP from domestic market was 0.2% in 2022
- Total revenue of Thai sugar industry was 250 billion baht in 2022/2023
- Employment generated by sugar sector: 2.5 million jobs direct and indirect in 2022
- Number of sugar mills: 47 active mills in 2023
- Mitr Phol Sugar Corp capacity: 20 million tons cane per year
- Thai Roong Ruang Group operates 5 mills crushing 12 million tons annually
Drought sharply reduced Thailand's sugar production and exports this past year.
Domestic Consumption and Market
- Thailand's domestic sugar consumption was 2.2 million tons in 2022/2023
- Per capita sugar consumption in Thailand averaged 35 kg in 2022
- Beverage industry consumed 800,000 tons of sugar in 2022
- Food processing sector used 650,000 tons domestically in 2022/2023
- Retail sugar sales reached 400,000 tons in 2022
- Confectionery industry demand was 300,000 tons in 2023
- Sugar for ethanol production consumed 500,000 tons in 2022/2023
- Household consumption accounted for 20% of domestic market at 440,000 tons
- Bakery and dairy sectors used 250,000 tons combined in 2022
- Growth in soft drinks consumption drove 5% sugar demand increase in 2022
- Bangkok metropolitan area consumed 15% of national sugar supply
- Northeast region domestic use was 500,000 tons in 2022
- Average retail price for white sugar was 28 baht/kg in 2023
- Refined sugar market share held by Mitr Phol was 45% in 2022
- Import of specialty sugars was 20,000 tons in 2022
- Sugar tax implemented in 2017 reduced consumption by 2% initially
- Projected domestic consumption for 2023/2024 is 2.3 million tons
- Canned fruit industry used 150,000 tons of sugar in 2022
- Ice cream and desserts sector demand grew 8% to 100,000 tons
- Pharmaceutical uses consumed 50,000 tons in 2022
- Bulk sugar wholesale price averaged 22 baht/kg in 2023
- Eastern region consumption was 300,000 tons in 2022/2023
- Northern Thailand sugar use totaled 200,000 tons domestically
- Southern domestic market was 220,000 tons in 2022
- Central region accounted for 40% of domestic consumption at 880,000 tons
- Organic sugar domestic sales reached 10,000 tons in 2023
Domestic Consumption and Market Interpretation
While Thailand savors its national sweet tooth to the collective tune of 35kg per person annually—enough to fill the beverage, bakery, and even ethanol industries with sugary delight—it seems Mitr Phol holds nearly half the keys to this sweet kingdom, all while Bangkok sips on a hefty 15% of the national supply.
Economic and Financial Metrics
- Sugar contribution to GDP from domestic market was 0.2% in 2022
- Total revenue of Thai sugar industry was 250 billion baht in 2022/2023
- Employment generated by sugar sector: 2.5 million jobs direct and indirect in 2022
- Average profit margin for sugar mills was 12% in 2022/2023
- Mitr Phol Group's revenue from sugar was 120 billion baht in 2022
- Thai Sugar Millers Corp contributed 15% to industry revenue in 2022
- Export earnings from sugar: $2.3 billion in 2021
- Investment in sugar mills modernization: 10 billion baht in 2022-2023
- Farmer income from sugarcane: average 150,000 baht per household in 2022
- Cost of production per ton of cane: 950 baht in 2023
- Gross value added by sugar industry: 180 billion baht in 2022
- Tax revenue from sugar sector: 20 billion baht annually
- ROE for listed sugar companies averaged 15% in 2022
- Debt-to-equity ratio in sugar firms: 0.6 on average in 2023
- Ethanol production value: 50 billion baht from sugar byproducts in 2022
- Bagasse power generation revenue: 15 billion baht in 2022
- R&D spending in sugar industry: 2 billion baht annually
- Contribution to agricultural GDP: 8% from sugar in 2022
- Average mill EBITDA: 5 billion baht per large mill in 2022
- Foreign investment in Thai sugar: $500 million cumulative by 2023
- Insurance payouts to farmers: 5 billion baht in drought year 2023
- Stock market cap of sugar firms: 100 billion baht in 2023
- Credit extended to farmers: 40 billion baht annually
- Price volatility index for Thai sugar: 25% annualized in 2022
Economic and Financial Metrics Interpretation
While Thailand's sugar industry contributes a mere 0.2% to the nation's GDP, it sweetens the lives of 2.5 million people with jobs, generates billions in revenue, and proves its resilience by turning byproducts into power and profit.
Export and Trade
- Thailand exported 4.2 million metric tons of raw sugar in 2022/2023, capturing 12% of global trade
- Sugar exports value reached $2.1 billion USD in 2022
- Top destination for Thai sugar was China, importing 1.8 million tons in 2022/2023
- Indonesia imported 650,000 tons of Thai raw sugar in 2022
- Vietnam purchased 450,000 tons from Thailand in MY2022/23
- Malaysia imported 320,000 tons of Thai sugar in 2022
- Average FOB price for Thai raw sugar was $450 per ton in 2023
- Thailand's sugar export volume to Africa reached 200,000 tons in 2022
- EU imported 150,000 tons under quota from Thailand in 2022/2023
- Japan sugar imports from Thailand totaled 120,000 tons in FY2022
- Thailand ranked 2nd globally in raw sugar exports with 4.5 MMT in 2021/2022
- Containerized sugar exports increased by 15% to 1.2 million tons in 2023
- Bangladesh imported 300,000 tons of Thai refined sugar in 2022
- Philippines took 250,000 tons in 2022/2023
- Export share to ASEAN countries was 28% of total Thai sugar exports in 2022
- Thailand's raw sugar exports to India were 100,000 tons despite competition
- Logistics costs for sugar exports averaged 5% of value in 2023
- Port of Laem Chabang handled 60% of sugar exports in 2022, volume 2.5 MMT
- Map Ta Phut port exported 1 million tons of sugar in 2022
- Refined sugar exports totaled 1.5 million tons in 2022/2023
- Sugar export growth rate was 10% YoY in value terms for 2022
- Thailand imported 50,000 tons of raw sugar in 2022 for re-export
- Export contracts fixed 70% of 2023/2024 crop at $500/ton
- US imported 80,000 tons under TRQ from Thailand in 2022
- Middle East exports reached 400,000 tons in 2023
Export and Trade Interpretation
Thailand's sugar industry has brilliantly turned the ASEAN sweet tooth and China's massive appetite into a $2.1 billion empire, proving that while you can't please everyone, you can certainly export to nearly all of them.
Industry Structure and Players
- Number of sugar mills: 47 active mills in 2023
- Mitr Phol Sugar Corp capacity: 20 million tons cane per year
- Thai Roong Ruang Group operates 5 mills crushing 12 million tons annually
- Number of sugarcane varieties approved: 25 by DOA in 2023
- Market share of top 5 mills: 70% of production in 2022
- Smallholder farmers represent 90% of production base
- Cooperatives handle 30% of cane supply to mills
- Vertical integration: 60% of mills produce ethanol too
- Women participation in farming: 40% of sugarcane workforce
- Mechanization level: 25% of harvesting mechanized in 2023
- R&D institutes: 3 main ones including Kasetsart University center
- Association members: 45 mills in Thai Sugar Millers Association
- Capacity of largest mill Pholsamut: 2.5 million tons cane/year
- Foreign ownership limit: 49% in sugar mills per BOI
- Supply chain length: 4 main stages from farm to export
- Bio-plastic production from sugar: 3 pilot plants operational
- Mill closures: 2 mills closed since 2020 due to low viability
- Farmer groups: 1,500 registered nationwide
- Contract farming coverage: 20% of area in 2023
- Top exporter firm: Mitr Phol with 40% export share
- Regional mill concentration: 70% in Northeast
- Labor unions in mills: 30 active unions
- Tech adoption: 50% mills use ERP systems
- Wastewater treatment plants: 100% compliance in mills
- Seed cane producers: 200 certified farms
Industry Structure and Players Interpretation
Thailand's sugar industry presents a sweet yet potent concoction, where the immense concentration of power in a few vertically-integrated giants—who produce everything from ethanol to bio-plastics—coexists with, and is fundamentally supplied by, a vast and fragmented base of smallholder farmers, a dynamic proving that even with 70% market share controlled by the top five, the real strength still lies in the 90% of growers who power it from the ground up.
Production and Yield
- Thailand produced 7.8 million metric tons of raw sugar in the 2022/2023 marketing year, down 18% from the previous year due to drought impacts
- Sugarcane crushing volume in Thailand reached 92.3 million tons in 2022/2023, a 20% decline from 115.6 million tons in 2021/2022
- Average sugarcane yield in Thailand was 3.2 tons per rai in 2022/2023, compared to 3.8 tons per rai in the prior year
- Planted area for sugarcane in Thailand totaled 1.45 million hectares in 2022/2023, down 5% from 1.53 million hectares
- Thailand's sugar mills operated at 78% capacity utilization in 2022/2023, processing 92 million tons of cane
- Raw sugar recovery rate from sugarcane in Thailand averaged 8.2% in 2022/2023, lower than 9.1% in 2021/2022
- Northeast region accounted for 65% of Thailand's sugarcane production in 2022, producing 59.8 million tons
- Central region sugarcane output was 22 million tons, representing 24% of national total in 2022/2023
- Thailand harvested sugarcane from 1.42 million hectares of harvested area in 2022/2023
- Sugar production from refineries reached 1.2 million tons of refined sugar in 2022
- Sugarcane productivity per hectare in Thailand was 65 tons/ha in 2021/2022
- Number of sugarcane farmers in Thailand stood at 1.2 million in 2022
- Thailand's 2023/2024 sugar production forecast is 6.5-7 million tons
- Dry weather reduced sugarcane yields by 15-20% in key provinces like Nakhon Ratchasima in 2023
- Thailand produced 93.5 million tons of sugarcane in 2021/2022 season
- Northern region contributed 4% to national sugarcane output with 3.7 million tons in 2022
- Southern region sugarcane production was 6.5 million tons, 7% of total in 2022/2023
- Average farmgate price for sugarcane was 1,050 baht per ton in 2022/2023 early season
- Sugarcane planting area decreased to 1.4 million ha in 2023/2024 due to low prices
- Recovery rate in top mills like Mitr Phol averaged 9.5% in 2021
- Thailand's sugar output from 47 mills totaled 7.8 MMT in MY2022/23
- Sugarcane ratoon crop yield dropped to 2.8 tons/rai in 2023
- Plant crop sugarcane yield was 3.5 tons/rai on average in 2022/2023
- Total sugarcane production forecast for 2023/2024 is 85 million tons
- Khon Kaen province produced 12 million tons of sugarcane in 2022
- Udon Thani sugarcane output reached 8.5 million tons
- Thailand's sugar sector used 2.5 million tons of bagasse for energy in 2022
- New sugarcane varieties increased yields by 10% in pilot farms in 2023
- Irrigation coverage for sugarcane fields was 30% in 2022
Production and Yield Interpretation
A punishing drought left Thailand's sugar industry bittersweet, producing 18% less sugar from 20% less cane as yields, recovery rates, and even the planted area all withered under the dry spell.
Sustainability and Policy
- Thailand reduced sugarcane burning by 40% to 20% of area in 2023 via BMP
- Water usage per ton of cane: 500 liters average in efficient mills 2022
- CO2 emissions from sugar production: 0.8 tons per ton sugar in 2022
- Bagasse-based renewable energy: 4,000 GWh generated in 2022
- Organic farming area: 50,000 ha for sugarcane in 2023
- Soil conservation practices adopted on 60% of farms
- Ethanol blending policy E20 increased byproduct demand
- Pesticide reduction target: 30% by 2025 under GAP certification
- Biodiversity programs: 100,000 rai protected in mill concessions
- Water recycling rate in mills: 80% average in 2023
- Carbon footprint certification: 10 mills ISO 14064 compliant
- Drought insurance coverage: 70% of farmers enrolled in 2023
- Biofertilizer use: 20% of farms adopting in 2022
- River water quality improved 25% near mills post-2018 regulations
- Renewable energy share in mills: 90% from bagasse
- Fair price policy for farmers enforced via OCC
- Plastic waste from packaging reduced 15% industry-wide
- Training programs for sustainable farming: 500,000 farmers reached since 2015
- EU deforestation regulation compliance plan for exports by 2024
- Greenhouse gas reduction: 20% target by 2030 per industry roadmap
Sustainability and Policy Interpretation
Thailand's sugar industry is sweetening the deal for the planet by systematically swapping smoky fires for sharp statistics, proving that ethical sugarcane can be both a profitable crop and a promise to the future.
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