Thailand's cassava industry faces its worst raw material shortage in history: output at 18.7 million tonnes against demand of 37–42 million, creating a 15-million-tonne deficit. Export value has crashed from 155.5 billion baht (2023) to a projected below 70 billion baht in 2026, erasing ~85 billion baht in economic value. Root causes include cassava leaf disease, climate variability, and farmer exits; many mills operate at only 30–40% capacity. Industry leaders propose emergency measures: expanding disease-resistant varieties (now only 25,000 rai), boosting yields from current averages, and levying import duties to fund breeding R&D—critical as the country can no longer rely on imports from neighbours who are now building domestic capacity.