Bangkok, Sept 23 - Thailand, the world's second biggest sugar exporter, is expected to produce up to 80 million tonnes of cane in its 2010/11 crop, the highest ever, a senior industry official said on Wednesday.
"We may produce up to 80 million tonnes of cane as high prices encourage farmers to expand their plantation," Prasert Tapaneeyangkul, secretary general of the Office of Cane and Sugar Board (OCSB), told Reuters.
That would produce around 8 million tonnes of sugar.
The OCSB, which oversees the country's sugar industry, also forecast that Thailand would produce 71.6 million tonnes of cane, equivalent to around 7.64 million tonnes of sugar, in the current 2009/10 crop, Prasert said.
"This is our final and official forecast, which is very close to the previous one," he said, referring to a forecast in August projecting Thailand would produce 76 million tonnes of cane or 7.60 million tonnes of sugar.
The 2009/10 crushing season is likely to start in November and run until the end of April.