Montri Gosalawat, the secretary-general of the Progressive Farmer Association who has grown organic rice since 1995, said that although organic rice was still a niche product, the demand has led to double-digit growth each year since 2009. Production costs for organic rice are normally cheaper than on chemical rice farms. The government target is to have 3 million framers harvesting organic rice from 10 million rai by the year 2021. That would boost the supply of organic rice in the market by more than 200 per cent, but it will also reduce the price of organic rice, and mean that new markets have to be found. “The high price is the final reason why we produce a high quality of organic rice, but our main benefit of producing organic rice is our strong health from consuming it,” Man said.

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 05, 2017 18:00 UTC