Farmers will pay a heavy price for the floods now ravaging much of the South, as more than 730,000 rai of agricultural land are already inundated and the affected area is increasing.

Heavy storms, flooding and mudslides have blocked many roads in southern provinces, forcing temporary shutdowns for many seafood exporters that cannot get their products out or receive raw materials.

The tourism industry is also feeling a big pinch, with many hotels and beach resorts, especially in Krabi and Surat Thani provinces, only half full, very unusual for the hot season.

Agriculture Minister Theera Wongsamut said more than 166,000 rubber, oil palm, rice, livestock and fisheries farmers had been affected by the flooding caused by continuous heavy rainfall since last Friday.

"We estimate the impact will be greater, as the flood-hit areas are now expanding to include Phuket, Ranong, Phangnga and Satun provinces," he said.

That will increase the number of flood-hit provinces to 11 including Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Surat Thani, Trang, Chumphon, Krabi and Songkhla.

Vittayen Muttamara, the deputy director of the National Flood Relief Coordination Center, said it was too early to assess the damage costs, as the affected area is still increasing.

As well, officials still cannot reach all of the damaged sites due to poor transport conditions.

Mr Vittayen earlier asked the government to set aside 15 billion baht as a relief fund for farmers and residents suffering from the disaster.

The government has not yet approved the request, but the Agriculture Ministry plans to seek cabinet approval for relief packages similar to those distributed to victims of last November's floods.

The proposed relief plan would pay rubber planters 6,007 baht a rai if their plantations are completely damaged. That figure is based on 55% of rubber production costs from the seventh to 12th years.

Compensation would be 30 baht each for young trees aged up to two years, increasing to 50 baht for trees aged 2-3 years and 100 baht for 3-5 years.

Oil palm growers would receive 2.921 baht a rai, rice growers 2,098 baht and orchard growers 4,908 baht.

Luck Vajananawat, the president of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives (BAAC), said the state bank would write off debts of customers who die as a result of the disaster.

It will extend the debt-payment period and waive interest charges for three years for other affected farmers.

The BAAC said 51,500 customers on 500,000 rai in various farm businesses are in trouble and owe the bank a combined 4.1 billion baht.

The Bank of Thailand estimates most crops, orchards and tourism will be hit hard, but rubber will be spared, as planters normally do not do much tapping in the southern rainy season.

Suraphon Svetasreni, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said southern tourism will lose out in this year's hot season. Large numbers of cancellations are being seen in hotels in Surat Thani province, the site of popular Koh Samui, he said.

Occupancy at hotels in the province, normally 70-80% at this time of year, has dropped to only 50-55%, he added.

The Thai Trade Centre in Surat Thani also expects huge losses to the seafood industry.

Centre director Rawepan Changyencham said the floods have damaged shrimp farms and food processing factories, plus all means of transport have been cut off. Factories cannot deliver products to either domestic or international customers and at the same time cannot receive raw materials.

Their customers may demand compensation for opportunity loss since heavy flooding has occurred twice now within five months, said Ms Rawepan.

She said factories would likely shut down operations since only half their workers can reach their factories.

Hardest hit will be frozen foods and shrimp, as many shrimp farms in Surat Thani, Chumphon and Nakhon Si Thammarat have been destroyed.

As this is also the shrimp harvest season, a shortage is now predicted.

Rubber and derivative products have also been damaged by mudslides. Planters cannot collect latex, so quality will be reduced due to fungus growth.

The floods have almost completely covered all palm oil plantation areas as well as fruit orchards, so prices of these crops will rise.

The Department of Export Promotion (DEP) will soon consider measures to assist businesses such as low-interest rehabilitation loans at maximum annual interest of 4% and ways to address raw material shortages and epidemics.

The DEP's Hat Yai office reported an initial survey among foreign logistics firms showed the flooded areas are not along the main route for transport of many goods from the South to Bangkok, Laem Chabang port and Suvarnabhumi Airport.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/229758/730000-rai-of-farms-submerged

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