FAO: Biofuel demand means Thailand needs bigger crops

Thailand could suffer a slump in tapioca exports and may have to import palm oil unless it increases production of the commodities by at least 25% within 10 years, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said. Thailand is the world’s biggest tapioca exporter and ships around 19 million tons a year, but that could fall to just 400,000 tons in 2022 due to a jump in demand from the local ethanol industry, according to a study by the United Nations agency. With limited farmland, Thailand needs to increase output of cassava to 5 tons per rai (0.16 hectare) from the current 3 tons to meet rising demand for ethanol, which is expected to rise to around 3 billion liters per year over the next 10 years, from 770 million liters today. (June 15, 2010)