WAgriculture in Thailand is highly competitive, diversified and specialized and its exports are very successful internationally. Rice is the country's most important crop, with some 60 percent of Thailand's 13 million farmers growing it on fully half of Thailand's cultivated land. Thailand is a major exporter in the world rice market. Rice exports in 2014 amounted to 1.3 percent of GDP. Agricultural production as a whole accounts for an estimated 9-10.5 percent of Thai GDP. Forty percent of the population work in agriculture-related jobs. The farmland they work was valued at US$2,945 per rai in 2013. Most Thai farmers own fewer than eight hectares of land.
WBlack Ivory Coffee is a brand of coffee produced by the Black Ivory Coffee Company Ltd in northern Thailand from Arabica coffee beans consumed by elephants and collected from their waste. The taste of Black Ivory coffee is influenced by elephants' digestive enzymes, which breaks down the coffee's protein. The taste is influenced also by the natural fermentation process of the elephants. The coffee beans are digested within 15 to 70 hours, and are present with various other ingredients in the elephants' stomachs, which imparts specific flavors to the product.
WThe Cairns Group is an interest group of 20 agricultural exporting countries, composed of Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Uruguay, and Vietnam.
WCoconut production contributes to the national economy of Thailand. According to figures published in December 2009 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, it is the world's sixth largest producer of coconuts, producing 1,721,640 tonnes in 2009. In 2012 it was reported that Thailand had 216,000 hectares of coconut palm plantations and produced 845 million whole coconuts.
WThailand is one of the top coffee producers in the world as of 2014. The country is ranked third among the coffee producing countries of Asia with robusta coffee accounting for 99 percent of its production.
WRice production in Thailand represents a significant portion of the Thai economy and labor force. In 2017, the value of all Thai rice traded was 174.5 billion baht, about 12.9% of all farm production. Of the 40% of Thais who work in agriculture, 16 million of them are rice farmers by one estimate.
WRiceberry (Jasberry Rice) is a registered rice variety from Thailand, a cross-breed of Jao Hom Nin (JHN), a local non-glutinous purple rice and Khoa Dawk Mali 105. The variety was created by the Rice Science Center, Kasetsart University, Thailand after four years of research for nutritional properties, anthocyanin stability, and physical and cooking properties. The outcome is a deep purple whole grain rice with softness and a palatable aftertaste. Riceberry has been a popular brown rice substitute due to its health promoting properties. Inducing people to consume more whole grain rice varieties could help ameliorate food-related chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, high blood cholesterol, obesity, and cancers.