Country agriculture profile · East Asia & Pacific
Thailand
Thailand is one of the world’s foremost agricultural exporters, long a leading shipper of rice — notably fragrant jasmine rice — along with natural rubber, sugar, and cassava products. The irrigated Central Plain around the Chao Phraya River is the historic rice bowl, while the rainfed Northeast and uplands supply cassava and sugarcane, and the South produces rubber and oil palm. A large export-oriented poultry and processed-food industry complements a still-substantial smallholder farming base.
Farming systems (stable overview)
Climate zones
- Tropical monsoon
- Tropical savanna with distinct wet and dry seasons
Agroecological zones
- Central Plain (Chao Phraya rice bowl)
- Khorat Plateau / Northeast (rainfed, drought-prone)
- Northern uplands
- Peninsular South (tree crops)
Dominant crop systems
- Irrigated lowland rice on the Central Plain and rainfed rice (including fragrant hom mali) in the Northeast
- Sugarcane and cassava as major upland industrial and export crops
- Rubber and oil palm in the South
- Tropical fruit and horticulture
Major livestock systems
- Large export-oriented commercial poultry (broilers)
- Intensive and smallholder pigs
- Beef and dairy cattle, with buffalo declining as draft animals
Irrigation: Irrigation is concentrated in the Central Plain through the Chao Phraya river system, while the populous Northeast remains largely rainfed and drought-prone.
Latest verified data
Each value is the most recent available observation, shown with its own year and unit. Figures are periodically revised — treat them as dated, sourced statistics, not evergreen facts.
| Indicator | Value | Unit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural land | 43.8 | % of land area | 2023 |
| Arable land | 31 | % of land area | 2023 |
| Cereal yield | 3,071.7 | kg per hectare | 2023 |
| Cereal production | 38,532,088.18 | metric tons | 2023 |
| Crop production index | 106.6 | index (2014–2016 = 100) | 2022 |
| Agriculture value added | 8.89 | % of GDP | 2024 |
| Employment in agriculture(est.) | 28.99 | % of total employment | 2024 |
Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12
Cereal yield over time
Show data table
| Year | kg per hectare |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 3,256.6 |
| 2013 | 3,214 |
| 2014 | 3,141.1 |
| 2015 | 2,958.7 |
| 2016 | 3,064.5 |
| 2017 | 3,172.3 |
| 2018 | 3,151.7 |
| 2019 | 3,021.6 |
| 2020 | 3,014.1 |
| 2021 | 3,062 |
| 2022 | 3,105.6 |
| 2023 | 3,071.7 |
Source: World Bank Open Data (World Development Indicators) (opens in a new tab) · dataset version 2026-07-01 · retrieved 2026-07-12
Derived indicator
Arable land as a share of agricultural land: 70.8 % of agricultural land (2023)
Derived value — formula arable-share-of-agricultural-land v1.0.0 (calc v1). Inputs: AG.LND.ARBL.ZS (31.0) ÷ AG.LND.AGRI.ZS (43.8). A derived ratio, not an observed statistic. Sensitive to rounding and to differing revision cycles of the two source series; omit rather than extrapolate when a common year is unavailable.
Documented crops & livestock
Agricultural institutions
- Department of Agriculture (DOA) — Government department for crop research, plant protection, and variety and input regulation.
- Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives — Parent ministry coordinating national agricultural policy, irrigation, and extension.
Data coverage & limitations
Covered by the World Bank WDI snapshots for land, production, yield, economy, inputs, and environment indicators.
- Statistics are dated, versioned, and periodically revised; single-year figures should not be read as a fixed baseline.
- National definitions of agricultural land, holdings, and commodities differ from those used by other countries, limiting direct comparison.
- The cereal-yield indicator largely reflects rice and understates the economic weight of non-cereal industrial crops such as cassava and sugarcane.
- National aggregates obscure the disparity between the irrigated Central Plain and the rainfed, drought-prone Northeast, and an aging farm workforce.
Sources
This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.
- Authoritative
Cited for: Agricultural statistics (WDI)
- Type:
- Intergovernmental organization
- Jurisdiction:
- Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12
- [2]FAO — Food and Agriculture Organization (opens in a new tab)Authoritative
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Cited for: Production, land-use, and commodity context
- Type:
- Intergovernmental organization
- Jurisdiction:
- Global
- Accessed:
- 2026-07-12