02 FEBRUARY 2016 - THUNG KHOK, SUBPAN BURI, THAILAND: A migrant farm worker from eastern Thailand cuts sugar cane during the harvest in Suphan Buri province, in western Thailand. Thai sugar cane yields are expected to drop by about two percent for the 2015/2016 harvest because of below normal rainfall. The size of the crop is expected to increase slightly though because farmers planted more sugar cane acreage this year. Thailand is the second leading exporter of sugar in the world. Thai sugar growers are hoping a good crop would make up for shortages in global markets caused by lower harvests in Brazil and Australia, where sugar yields have been stunted by drought. Because of the drought in Thailand, sugar exports are expected to drop by up to 20 percent, contributing to a global sugar shortage. The drought is is also hurting the quality of Thai sugar, because sugarcane grown in drought is less sweet than normal so mills need to process more cane to make the same amount of sugar. Thai sugar farmers have lost 20 percent to 30 percent of their output this year because of the drought.       PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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