May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Rice production in Thailand, the largest grower, may decline 4.3 percent in the next crop year starting October because of drought. he government has told farmers to delay planting by a month to the end of June, when normal rainfall is expected. “If plantings start now, it would affect productivity because of inadequate water supply,” Apichart Jongskul, secretary-general of Thailand’s Office of Agricultural Economics, said today.

 “Rice from the next crop will come onto the market later than it usually does,” said Teera Wongsamut, the country’s farm minister, by phone today. “This will have a positive psychological effect, boosting local prices.”