Due to favorable weather conditions and attractive farm-gate prices, rice production in Thailand in 2018-19 is forecast to increase by 4% to 21.2 million tonnes. The USDA said some sugarcane growers in the northeast have shifted to fragrant rice, particularly those who would have had to replant sugarcane this year as sugarcane prices have trended downward in recent months. The Thai Meteorological Department expects precipitation to be 5% to 10% above normal during May-July 2018 in the main crop rice growing areas.