Si Sa Ket
Premium jasmine rice province (one of only 3) that stays poor—borders Cambodia, Khmer temples, 141.85B baht checkpoint trade, Surin cooperatives succeeded where it didn't.
Si Sa Ket grows jasmine rice that commands premium prices but remains one of Thailand's poorest provinces. Only Surin, Buriram, and Si Sa Ket can produce high-quality hom mali, according to Thai consensus—the same three provinces with significant Khmer-speaking populations and Angkorian temple complexes. The jasmine fetches double global rice prices, yet Si Sa Ket's poverty persists while neighboring Surin reduced poverty through organic rice cooperatives.
The province borders Cambodia through Chong Sa-ngam checkpoint—one of five customs points moving 141.85 billion baht in exports and 32.68 billion in imports. Prasat Sa Kamphaeng Yai, a Khmer temple complex of sandstone and laterite, stands among agricultural landscapes as testament to the region's millennium-long connection to Cambodia. The temples are "silent guardians of Thailand's ancient history," but tourism revenue flows to Angkor Wat rather than its Thai cousins.
Rice and tobacco drive the economy; both require cheap labor. The 2024 rice export boom (9.95 million tons, $6.434 billion) benefited the province, but 2025 projections drop to 7.5 million tons as India resumes exports and Thai baht strengthens. By 2026, Si Sa Ket tests whether premium rice genetics can overcome structural poverty—or whether the advantage flows to middlemen and exporters while farmers remain poor.