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LAST UPDATE: Thursday October 23, 2003

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Rice growing on Phuket – almost a thing of the past

The paddy fields are here on Phuket, but hardly any are used for growing rice now – they lie fallow, waiting for developers concrete and steel to arrive

While Europeans regularly greet each other with the phrase “How are you?”, Thais ask “Kin khao lao ruu yang?” or “Have you eaten rice yet?” This reflects the fact that rice is the main ingredient in the Asian diet, and therefore of more than half of the people on the planet. But on Phuket, the phenomenal increase in the value of land over the last decade has made the archetypical Asian image of the buffalo in the rice paddy a rarity.

There is currently 139,170 rai of land under cultivation on Phuket, with only 5,420 of that area, or less than 5 percent, planted with rice (2.5 rai = acre; 6.25 rai = 1 hectare). This represents a decrease of about 50 percent over the last 10 years. Eight years ago it was possible to find rice farms in Rawai, Nai Ham, Kata and Chalong. These days they are limited to Thalang, and in another five to ten years, there will probably be no more rice grown on the island.

Rice has been grown on Phuket as long as there have been people living here. With population growth, however and with the advent of intensive tin mining in the 1700’s, the sandy, mountainous terrain limited rice production and forced importation. Society records note that in 1869-70 more than 2,500 koyans of rice (1 koyan = 968 kilos) were brought into Phuket to feed hungry miners. Today, with a quarter of a million Thais residing on the island, and three million tourists arriving every year, huge shipments of rice arrive by truck every day from Bangkok to satisfy the demand for Asia’s favourite food.


by Terry Blackburn