In Thailand’s rice paddies, rising petrol prices spell disaster for farmers

Thanadet Traiyot waited in line for hours at his local gas station, armed with containers and desperately hoping to secure much-needed diesel for his rice fields in Ayutthaya, central Thailand. He was third in the queue when the shop announced their supplies had run dry. That was five days ago; he still hasn’t managed to restock to his normal levels.
Back on his farm, Thanadet wades into his rice paddies, weaving past tall green stalks to assess the water levels and decide which of his water pumps can be turned off. Water needs to be spread equally across the fields, he says, but he doesn’t have enough diesel to keep everything running.
“It’s affecting us a lot as farmers because we rely on fuel for our operations. We need the fuel for tending of the crop and pumping of the water to maintain the rice crops,” said Thanadet. It’s not only fuel scarcity that’s a problem, but also the price, which has risen sharply since the US-Israel war on Iran.
Thailand, and many neighbouring countries, which depend on energy imported from the Middle East, are on the frontlines of an energy crisis triggered by the war. The Thai government says it has enough energy for 100 days, but still, in many areas of the country, long queues and “out of stock” signs have appeared at the pumps. The shortages have prompted large taxis to reduce services from Bangkok’s main airport, caused tour boats to stop and even prompted some temples to halt cremations.
The crisis has also caused major disruption for farmers and fishers in Thailand, one of the world’s biggest exporters of produce such as rice, sugar and canned and processed fish. Farmers have been unable to get diesel to power their machinery, including to harvest crops, while many fishers remain grounded. A fisher group warned this week that the multi-billion dollar industry could come to a complete standstill within days if the government doesn’t offer support to help with the cost of fuel.
Thai diesel prices rose to 38.94 baht per litre on Thursday, when government subsidies ended, rising from 29.94 baht per litre from prewar levels.
“Looking ahead, in one month, how high is it going to go?,” said Pairote Rodpai, 40, whose family own a 11.2 hectare farm nearby in Ayutthaya. “Within the next months when we need to harvest, the harvesting will use even more fuel than the water pumps.”
His uncle, Theerasin Thanachawaroj, says the family have farmed on their land for three generations, but have never experienced this kind of disruption before.
Pramote Charoensilp, president of the Thai Agriculturist Association, worries things could get even worse if the war drags on. In a month, Thai farmers will begin to purchase fertiliser as they prepare for the next harvest – another product that is imported from the Middle East. “In May, if we are still in war, the price problem is going to be worse - more difficult and more severe,” said Pramote.
The Persian Gulf is a major hub for global fertiliser production and exports, and even countries that have their own fertiliser plants often depend on gas imports from the region to keep these running. Already, plants across India, Bangladesh and Malaysia are slowing operations or shutting down altogether as a result of supply shortages.
Unlike oil, the fertiliser sector does not have internationally coordinated strategic reserves, which makes supply chain disruption even harder to manage, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture organisation, which has warned the war of a “major shock” to global food systems.
If the conflict continues, the World Food Programme says the total number of people around the world facing acute levels of hunger could reach record numbers in 2026, with a total of 363 million people facing food insecurity.
In neighbouring Myanmar, which has been gripped by conflict and economic chaos since the 2021 military coup, food production costs could double compared with last year’s harvest, the WFP warned. A quarter of the population is already facing acute hunger.
Across the region, governments are scrambling to find ways to conserve fuel, with the Philippines introducing a four-day week for many public sector workers, and Laos authorities encouraging students to cycle or take public transport to school. In Thailand, the government has also announced measures to support farmers, including a plan to buy rice at above market rates, and to subsidise fertiliser costs.
Pairote’s family say they have enough resources to manage for now, but they worry about others who lack savings, or who are dependent on buying food to survive.
“If it keeps going on like this, with the price rising like this, some farmers may have to stop their crop this year,” adds Pairote, who says some may stick to farming only for their own consumption.
For now, farmers who are due to harvest off-season rice crops say they have no choice but to swallow the costs.
“We can’t leave the crops to rot and die in the field,” says Thandet, who is managing by carefully conserving his fuel.
Each time he leaves the house he brings his jerry cans, in case he spots a gas station that has not yet sold out of supplies. He, and many others, simply hope the war ends soon. “For the people, no one benefits from war,” he says.