Thailand’s fight against deadly air pollution could benefit American corn farmers. The Kingdom is set to ban imports of the grain used for animal feed from countries where farmers still burn their fields, opening the door to greater imports of corn from the United States.

“This is the first time Thailand is implementing an environmental measure on agricultural imports,” said Duangarthit Nidhi-u-tai, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade.

For a few months each year, parts of Thailand are blanketed in haze that leads to negative health consequences for many people, especially the elderly and those with pre-existing health problems. Studies have shown that the haze is caused chiefly by farmers burning their fields to clear and fertilize the ground before planting their next crop.

The burning releases carbon into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change. Thailand is one of the countries most affected by climate change, according to United Nations agencies.

Growing corn to sell to animal feed producers has expanded dramatically in recent years in Thailand and the region.

Thailand’s government has taken measures to induce the Kingdom’s corn farmers to use alternative methods to clear their fields. But farmers in less-developed neighboring countries with weaker rule of law are an even greater problem. The smoke from their fires knows no borders and pollutes the air in Thailand.

Duangarthit said that firms importing corn to Thailand will now have to show proof that it was grown on farms where burning is not practiced; otherwise, their shipments will be rejected.

This is bound to benefit corn farmers in the United States who export their crops. As American corn meets the environmental standards required by Thailand, animal feed producers in the Kingdom will likely source more corn from the United States.

That also will aid Thailand’s government, which has pledged to import more American agricultural products as one way of achieving better balance in bilateral trade with the United States, one of Thailand’s most important trading partners.

An agreement will need to be signed to effectuate corn imports from the United States,
but Thai officials are optimistic that an agreement will be reached.

The United States is the world’s largest producer of corn and one of the largest exporters in the world.