The Chairman of the Commerce Committee expressed concern that farmers might misunderstand the extension of the animal feed corn import deadline to 31 August, fearing they might switch to planting other crops and cause market oversupply. He emphasized that this is not an extension but the original timeframe set since 2011.
On 20 June 2026, Mr. Samrit Thansub, MP for Chaiyaphum from the Bhumjaithai Party and Chairman of the House of Representatives' Commerce and Intellectual Property Committee, addressed the cabinet's decision to extend the import period for animal feed corn from neighboring countries from 30 June 2026 to 31 August 2026. He clarified for farmers growing animal feed corn that since 2011, Thailand has imported feed corn from neighboring countries under the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) agreement to supplement domestic production of about 5 million tonnes per year, while feed mills require around 9 million tonnes annually. The government allows private companies to import only during the non-harvest period, from 1 February to 31 August each year, but only after purchasing all domestic corn from farmers first. This practice has been in place for over 10 years. The volume of imports depends on prices and feed mills' demand.
Mr. Samrit said that in mid-2025, the price of animal feed corn declined due to forecasts of about a 10% increase in production. Concerned about this, he raised the issue in multiple meetings and repeatedly urged the Minister of Commerce to implement measures to help farmers. One proposal was to shorten the import period from neighboring countries to end on 30 June 2026 to pressure feed mills to pay higher prices for animal feed corn. When questioned about how to handle shortages if import time is reduced, the meetings concluded that if actual demand cannot be met in any year, the import period could be extended but not beyond 31 August, the original framework, and it must not affect the new harvest.
The Chairman of the Commerce Committee stated that this year, domestic production is expected to begin harvesting around September or October due to delayed planting caused by climate conditions and increased production costs for farmers. Therefore, allowing imports until 31 August 2026 aligns with the original timeframe used since 2011 under the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) agreement and is not an extension. If planting and harvesting occur earlier in any year, he will advocate to the government to reduce the import period to protect farmers' interests.
“I want to confirm that I am not defending or siding with anyone but want farmers to know the facts. Misunderstandings could influence farmers' decisions about what to plant in the next one to two months. If they switch to other crops like sugarcane and production increases by 10%, it could overwhelm processing plants and affect prices. Currently, the cultivation of various crops is balanced. Personally, I think the price of animal feed corn this year is favorable, considering that global wheat prices are high and if private companies order today, the price is about 10 baht per kilogram.”