Bioeconomy In Thailand At a glance

Thailand is promoting a bioeconomy centered on cassava and sugarcane to drive economic growth and social equity, though the industrial sector is more advanced than community-based efforts. While integrated into policies like Thailand 4.0 and the 20-year National Strategic Plan, the transition faces regulatory hurdles, such as the Cane and Sugar Act (1968), and environmental pressures including land and water scarcity. Social challenges include wage inequality for plantation workers and food security risks for farmers shifting from rice to sugarcane.

• Thailand's bioeconomy strategy aims to help the nation escape the 'middle-income trap' by modernizing agriculture and adding value to raw materials, while simultaneously reducing social inequality and environmental risks.
• The government has prioritized cassava and sugarcane for bioeconomy development due to their high production volumes and versatility in creating value-added products like bioplastics and biofuels.
• Industrial bioeconomy development is currently more advanced than artisanal or community-based efforts because of superior existing infrastructure, financing, and research and development structures.
• The Cane and Sugar Act (1968) creates a regulatory barrier by prohibiting the direct use of sugarcane juice for non-sugar products, forcing ethanol producers to rely on by-products like molasses and bagasse.
• Environmental constraints include severe water scarcity, with only 10% of sugarcane plantations under irrigation, and limited land availability, with only 0.37 Mha of remaining land suitable for sugarcane.
• Bioeconomy development is linked to negative social and environmental outcomes, including sugarcane plantation workers earning less than the THB 300 daily minimum wage and the practice of field burning due to labor shortages, which causes air pollution and soil erosion.
• Shifting agricultural production from rice to sugarcane has been found to reduce household food security and nutrition for farming families.

APA

Aung, M. T. (2021). Bioeconomy In Thailand At a glance. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/sei-db-bioeconomy-thailand-aung-apr-2021-updated.pdf

Chicago

Aung, May Thazin. Bioeconomy In Thailand At a glance. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2021. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/sei-db-bioeconomy-thailand-aung-apr-2021-updated.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Aung |first1=May Thazin |title=Bioeconomy In Thailand At a glance |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=January 2021 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/sei-db-bioeconomy-thailand-aung-apr-2021-updated.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{aung2021bioeconomy, author = {Aung, May Thazin}, title = {{Bioeconomy In Thailand At a glance}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/sei-db-bioeconomy-thailand-aung-apr-2021-updated.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }