Demand management of Thailand"s food system

Except for rice and sugar, there has been little direct government intervention in food markets in Thailand. The major reasons for a lack of intervention are an abundant food supply and a heavy reliance on exports of food and agricultural products. In rice, government interventions aimed at keeping consumer prices low and maximizing returns from exports. But beginning in the 1980"s, the government began to withdraw from active participation in the rice market. Its decisions were driven by increased political power of rice farmers, a decline in the dietary importance of rice, and rice becoming less important in total exports. In the case of sugar, demand management took the form of charging domestic consumers a high price, in order to stimulate production and finance exports without using direct government subsidies. (Author abstract)