Thai Agriculture vs Hospitality: Margin and Survival (2026)
In short
Accommodation and food service out-earns agriculture on almost every measure as of 17 July 2026. It has 83,598 companies against 19,259. It earns a 5.65 percent net margin against 2.55 percent. Its survival rate is 58.09 percent against 55.71 percent. Agriculture wins only on firm size, with revenue per reporting company 2.6 times higher.
Which sector is bigger, richer and more durable?
Accommodation and food service wins the count, the revenue, the margin and the survival race. It holds 83,598 registered companies, which is 4.3 times the 19,259 in agriculture (DBD, 2026). Its reported revenue is 941.4 billion baht against 491.8 billion baht. Net profit is 53.2 billion baht against 12.5 billion baht. Agriculture keeps one advantage. Its typical reporting company is far larger, at 40.8 million baht of revenue against 15.9 million baht. Fields reward scale. Kitchens and hotel rooms reward turnover.
Net profit margin by sector, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025 statement years
- Hospitality 20190
- Hospitality 2021-27
- Hospitality 20233
- Hospitality 20257
- Agriculture 20191
- Agriculture 2021-1
- Agriculture 2023-2
- Agriculture 20253
Figures in percent net margin.
Hospitality margin in the 2021 statement year was negative 26.84 percent. Data are for companies that filed in each year. Agriculture values for 2021 and 2023 were negative 1.13 and negative 1.53 percent.
Agriculture against accommodation and food service
| Measure | Agriculture | Accommodation and food service |
|---|---|---|
| Registered companies | 19,259 | 83,598 |
| Companies with a filed statement | 12,067 | 59,330 |
| Total revenue, billion baht | 491.8 | 941.4 |
| Total net profit, billion baht | 12.5 | 53.2 |
| Net margin | 2.55% | 5.65% |
| Return on equity | 2.72% | 7.90% |
| Active companies | 10,729 | 48,564 |
| Survival rate | 55.71% | 58.09% |
| Micro share of companies | 82.4% | 72.5% |
| Large companies | 128 | 260 |
| Largest company revenue, billion baht | 31.6 | 18.9 |
Headline measures from the DBD registry, as of 17 Jul 2026.
The shock that separates them
The two sectors look similar on a calm day and nothing alike in a storm. In the 2021 statement year, hospitality revenue among filers fell to 286.9 billion baht from 563.7 billion baht in 2019, a drop of 49 percent. Agriculture revenue rose over the same span, from 248.9 billion baht to 284.4 billion baht. Then the roles flipped. By 2025 hospitality reached a 7.38 percent margin and agriculture reached 3.24 percent. Survival tells a quieter story. Of agriculture's registered companies, 8,530 are inactive, or 44.29 percent. Hospitality has 35,044 inactive, or 41.91 percent. The gap is only 2.38 points, so neither sector is a safe harbour.
Why this matters
Both sectors are visible, labour heavy and politically watched, so they get compared in speeches. The registry says the comparison is lopsided. Hospitality turns each baht of revenue into more than twice the profit, but it pays for that with violent swings when tourists vanish. Agriculture earns thin margins steadily and leans on a few giants, since its largest company alone holds 6.4 percent of sector revenue. A lender, a supplier or a founder should price the shape of the risk, not just the average. Thin and steady is one bet. Fat and fragile is another.
Definitions
- Net margin
- Net profit as a share of revenue. A five percent margin means five satang of profit for every baht of revenue.
- Survival rate
- Active companies as a share of all companies in a group, active plus inactive.
- Return on equity
- Net profit divided by shareholder equity.
- Micro company
- The smallest size band in the DBD registry.
- Statement year
- The year a financial statement covers, converted here from the Buddhist era to the Gregorian calendar.
Assumptions
- Margins and revenue cover only companies that filed a financial statement, which is 62.7 percent of agriculture and 71.0 percent of hospitality.
- Yearly figures cover different sets of filers each year, so read them as direction and not as a like for like panel.
- Registered companies exclude sole traders and informal farms and street vendors, which are large in both sectors.
- Inactive means inactive in the registry and does not prove a business has closed.
Methodology
Figures come from the Department of Business Development registry aggregates for TSIC section A, Agriculture forestry and fishing, and section I, Accommodation and food service, computed on 17 July 2026. Net margin is section net profit divided by section revenue for companies that filed a statement. Survival rate is active companies divided by active plus inactive, summed over the 5-digit codes in each section, which counts 83,608 hospitality companies against 83,598 in the section table, a gap of 10. Year figures use Buddhist-era statement years converted to Gregorian, exclude the incomplete 2026 year, and cover only the companies that filed in that year, so counts shift between years.
How we verified this
- Company ratio recomputed: 83,598 / 19,259 = 4.34, shown as 4.3 times.
- Revenue per reporting company recomputed: agriculture 491,814,884,493 / 12,067 = 40.76 million baht and hospitality 941,432,398,502 / 59,330 = 15.87 million baht. Ratio 40.76 / 15.87 = 2.57, shown as 2.6 times.
- Net margin recomputed: agriculture 12.52 / 491.81 = 2.55 percent. Hospitality 53.23 / 941.43 = 5.65 percent.
- Survival recomputed: agriculture 10,729 / 19,259 = 55.71 percent, hospitality 48,564 / 83,608 = 58.09 percent. Gap 2.38 points. Inactive shares 8,530 / 19,259 = 44.29 percent and 35,044 / 83,608 = 41.91 percent.
- Micro share recomputed: 15,861 / 19,259 = 82.4 percent and 60,575 / 83,608 = 72.5 percent. Size bands sum to the totals in both sectors.
- Largest agriculture company share: 31.608 / 491.815 = 6.43 percent.
- 2021 hospitality revenue drop recomputed: 286.9 / 563.7 = 0.509, so a fall of 49 percent.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and financial statement aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
Frequently asked questions
Which is more profitable in Thailand, agriculture or hospitality?
Accommodation and food service, with a 5.65 percent net margin against 2.55 percent for agriculture, as of 17 July 2026.
Which sector survives longer?
Hospitality, with a 58.09 percent survival rate against 55.71 percent. The gap is small.
How many companies does each sector have?
Accommodation and food service has 83,598 registered companies and agriculture has 19,259.
Why did hospitality margins collapse in 2021?
Revenue among filing hospitality companies fell 49 percent from the 2019 statement year, while costs did not fall as fast, giving a margin of negative 26.84 percent.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Thai Agriculture vs Hospitality: Margin and Survival (2026). Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/agriculture-vs-hospitality-in-thailand-2026
Data & corrections
Download the data (CSV)Spot something off, or want to ask about the data? Email insights@maxsolutions.co.th. We publish corrections.
Written by
Chatpong L.Founder, Max Data, Max Solutions Co., Ltd.
Chatpong L. leads Max Data, a company-intelligence platform built on Thailand's official business registry. He writes about the structure of the Thai economy using primary registry data. His work covers company formation, industry concentration, and regional business activity.
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This page reports company-level and aggregate statistics only. It names no individuals and makes no claims about any person. Figures are provided for information and may be revised as source data updates.