24 JANUARY 2017 - PHRA THAEN, KANCHANABURI, THAILAND:  A sugarcane worker eats a piece of sugarcane in a cane field in Phra Thaen. Thai government  officials recently announced that they plan to float sugar prices later this year or early in 2018. Wholesale prices are currently set by the Cane and Sugar Board, a part of the Industry Ministry, while the Commerce Ministry sets the retail price. Thailand has fixed retail prices of sugar to guarantee a profit for farmers. Thailand is the world's leading exporter of sugar, after Brazil. Thai sugar production is expected to drop by more than three percent because of the lingering drought that crippled agriculture through 2015 and 2016.   PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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