Chachoengsao floods threaten key agricultural produce

Prolonged flooding in Chachoengsao province is taking a heavy toll on local agriculture, leaving its famous mango orchards on the brink of dying-off and wiping out shrimp farms overnight, farmers reported on Tuesday.

In Bang Khla district, home to the province's famed "Mamuang Khai Tuek" (a prized mango variety with Geographical Indication status), growers have been forced to wade through deep floodwaters to harvest whatever fruit they can salvage.

Farmers say they are selling the produce at rock-bottom prices just to secure immediate income, as the orchards have now been submerged for 10 straight days.

Local growers explained that mango trees can typically tolerate standing water for 10 to 15 days but, with the floodwaters showing no sign of receding this week, many trees face root rot and death.

If the trees die, growers will have to cut them down and replant, facing a waiting period of four to five years before the new trees yield marketable fruit.

"After the water recedes, we might not have any 'Khai Tuek' mangoes to sell, we might have to sell the orchards instead just to pay off our debts," one local farmer lamented.

Other primary agriculture in the eastern province includes rice paddies and aquaculture, which have also suffered severe damage.

A local shrimp farm owner reported losing millions of baht virtually overnight when floodwaters inundated his ponds on Sept 25.

The rapid influx of floodwater caused market-ready shrimp to die from shock and sweep out of the enclosures before any harvest could take place.