Thai farmers advised to apply Sufficiency Economy Principle to post-wage hike production

BANGKOK, March 23 (TNA) - Thai farmers have been suggested to apply to the Sufficiency Economy Principle, introduced by late His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, to their production in the wake of the government's new daily minimum wage increase nationwide by 5-22 baht, which takes effect as of April 1, 2018. Anchana Tracho, Deputy Secretary General of the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE), under the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, voiced her suggestion on March 22, saying although the upcoming wage hike should not seriously affect the local agricultural sector, Thai farmers should adjust themselves to cope with the changing situation. Anchana advised that individual farmers form into groups in their separate communities and apply the Sufficiency Economy Principle to their co-production system for the sake of their self-reliance on the sustainable basis in the long run. Besides, local farmers should further develop their labor potential for the sake of more productivity in terms of reduced costs but increased output and quality. According to an OAE recent study, the upcoming daily minimum wage hike should mostly affect the local planting sector, where the average labor cost is about 17.8 per cent of its total cost, followed by the local farm service, fishery and livestock sectors, where their average labor costs are lower at 12.1 per cent, 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, OAE Secretary General Winaroj Sapsongsuk told journalists that the average labor cost of the country's macro-leveled service and industrial sectors stand at 20.2 per cent and 9 per cent of the total cost in the respective sectors. The OAE chief also projected that the Thai agricultural economy should grow by 3.8 per cent in the first quarter of this year, compared to the corresponding period of last year, and should grow by 3-4 per cent year-on-year on average in 2018, cushioned by the recovering world economy, as well as sufficient water supply, favorable weather conditions during annual harvesting seasons and the government's supporting measures. (TNA)