Thailand Agriculture vs Manufacturing: Size and Margin 2026
In short
The average Thai manufacturing company reports 175.0 million baht in yearly revenue, more than four times agriculture's 42.0 million baht, as of 7 July 2026. Manufacturing also earns a fatter margin, 4.37 percent against agriculture's 2.55 percent. Its return on equity of 9.82 percent triples agriculture's 2.73 percent. Yet agriculture's revenue grew 96.5 percent over the past decade, nearly four times manufacturing's 24.6 percent gain. Bigger and more profitable does not mean faster growing.
How do agriculture and manufacturing compare in size, margin and returns?
Rank Thailand's company registry by average size and manufacturing wins by a wide margin. The typical manufacturing company reports 175.0 million baht in yearly revenue against agriculture's 42.0 million baht as of 7 July 2026, a gap of more than four to one. Manufacturing also keeps more of each baht it earns, with a net margin of 4.37 percent compared to agriculture's 2.55 percent, DBD 2026. Its return on equity of 9.82 percent is more than three times agriculture's 2.73 percent, and its return on assets of 4.51 percent is more than three times agriculture's 1.45 percent. Agriculture counts 19,259 registered companies against manufacturing's 230,396, so part of the size gap simply reflects how differently the two sectors are built. Manufacturing carries 4,718 large companies against agriculture's 128, a gap of 37 to 1, even though manufacturing's total company count is only about 12 times larger. The two economies sitting inside Thailand's registry look nothing alike.
Average annual revenue per company
- Agriculture42
- Manufacturing175
Figures in million baht.
Manufacturing's average filer is more than four times the size of agriculture's by revenue.
Agriculture vs manufacturing, side by side
| Metric | Agriculture | Manufacturing |
|---|---|---|
| Registered companies | 19,259 | 230,396 |
| Filed a financial statement | 12,051 | 148,653 |
| Filed data share of registered | 62.6% | 64.5% |
| Average revenue per company | 42.0 million baht | 175.0 million baht |
| Average net profit per company | 1.04 million baht | 7.39 million baht |
| Net margin | 2.55% | 4.37% |
| Return on equity | 2.73% | 9.82% |
| Return on assets | 1.45% | 4.51% |
| Active company share | 55.7% | 47.3% |
| Micro company share | 82.4% | 68.7% |
| Large companies | 128 | 4,718 |
Company counts, size and profitability by sector, as of 7 Jul 2026.
Decade revenue growth, 2016 to 2025
- Agriculture97
- Manufacturing25
Figures in percent change in total sector revenue.
Agriculture's growth trails only human health and social work among Thailand's 18 revenue reporting sections, and runs nearly four times manufacturing's pace.
Why this matters
Size and profitability rarely move together, and this pair proves it. A lender underwriting a manufacturing loan is looking at a company with an average asset base of 163.8 million baht against agriculture's 71.9 million baht, and a return on equity that triples what the average farm operator earns on the same capital. Agriculture's thinner margin leaves less room to absorb a bad harvest or a currency swing. Yet the registry also shows agriculture pulling away on an entirely different measure, revenue growth. Its 96.5 percent decade gain lines up with the national accounts, where the National Economic and Social Development Council recorded agriculture output growth accelerating to 3.6 percent in 2025 while manufacturing output grew just 0.4 percent, NESDC 2025. A sector can stay small, thin margined and fast growing all at once. Anyone sizing up Thai agriculture should treat it as a different animal from manufacturing, not a smaller version of it.
Definitions
- Net margin
- Net profit as a share of revenue, calculated across the whole sector, total net profit divided by total revenue. A 4 percent margin means 4 satang of profit for every baht of revenue.
- Return on equity
- Net profit divided by shareholder equity across the sector, a measure of how much profit a company generates from the capital its owners put in.
- Return on assets
- Net profit divided by total assets across the sector, a measure of how efficiently a company turns everything it owns into profit.
- Active company
- A registered company that DBD records as currently operating rather than dissolved, suspended or otherwise inactive.
- Size band
- DBD's classification of a company as micro, small, medium or large, based on registered capital and reported scale.
- Companies with filed data
- The subset of registered companies that submitted a financial statement DBD could aggregate. Average revenue and profit figures divide by this count, not by every registered company.
Assumptions
- Average revenue and net profit per company are calculated only over companies that filed a financial statement, about 63 percent of registered companies in each of these two sectors, so unfiled companies are excluded from the averages.
- Decade growth compares statement year 2559 to 2568, equivalent to 2016 and 2025, and deliberately skips the anomalous 2561 statement year, equivalent to 2018, rather than using it as an endpoint.
- Section-wide net margin, return on equity and return on assets are aggregate ratios and not the average of each individual company's own ratio.
- Size bands reflect DBD's registered classification, which may track registered capital as much as current operating scale.
Methodology
Figures are computed from the DBD registry's pre-aggregated section-level table for TSIC section A, agriculture forestry and fishing, and section C, manufacturing, as of 7 July 2026. Average revenue and average net profit per company divide each section's total by the count of companies that filed a financial statement, not by every registered company, since unfiled companies contribute no revenue figure. Net margin, return on equity and return on assets are aggregate ratios, total profit or return divided by total revenue, equity or assets across the section, not the average of individual company ratios. Decade revenue growth compares statement year 2559 to statement year 2568 on the Thai Buddhist calendar, equivalent to 2016 and 2025, chosen to avoid the unusual 2561 statement year, equivalent to 2018, when manufacturing revenue spiked as registry coverage expanded. Size bands, micro, small, medium and large, follow DBD's registered classification.
How we verified this
- Agriculture average revenue recomputed as 491,734,988,828 baht total section revenue divided by 12,051 companies with filed data equals 42,017,858 baht, matching the database's avg_revenue field.
- Manufacturing average revenue recomputed as 25,135,323,478,520 baht divided by 148,653 companies with filed data equals 175,030,977 baht.
- Manufacturing's average company size is 4.17 times agriculture's, computed as 175,030,977 divided by 42,017,858.
- Net margin recomputed as net profit divided by revenue: 12,538,365,232 divided by 491,734,988,828 equals 2.55 percent for agriculture, and 1,097,635,469,599 divided by 25,135,323,478,520 equals 4.37 percent for manufacturing.
- Decade growth recomputed using statement years 2559 and 2568: agriculture revenue rose from 186,635,733,831 to 366,736,080,764, a gain of 96.5 percent, and manufacturing revenue rose from 16,837,310,847,333 to 20,971,902,951,050, a gain of 24.6 percent.
- Across all 18 revenue reporting sections over the same two years, human health and social work grew fastest at 102.6 percent, with agriculture second at 96.5 percent, confirmed by ranking every section's growth ratio.
- Large company counts recomputed by summing count_large across all TSIC codes within each section: 128 for agriculture and 4,718 for manufacturing, a ratio of 36.9 to 1 against an entity count ratio of 12.0 to 1.
- Active company share recomputed as active count divided by registered count: 10,729 divided by 19,259 equals 55.7 percent for agriculture, and 109,063 divided by 230,396 equals 47.3 percent for manufacturing.
- Micro company share recomputed as micro count divided by registered count: 15,861 divided by 19,259 equals 82.4 percent for agriculture, and 158,392 divided by 230,396 equals 68.7 percent for manufacturing.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and financial statement aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
- National Economic and Social Development Council. (2025). Thai economic performance in Q4 of 2025 and the outlook for 2026. https://www.nesdc.go.th/en/download/press-release-47/?ddl=99987
Frequently asked questions
Which sector has bigger companies, agriculture or manufacturing in Thailand?
Manufacturing. Its average company reports 175.0 million baht in revenue against agriculture's 42.0 million baht, as of 7 July 2026.
Is agriculture or manufacturing more profitable in Thailand?
Manufacturing runs a higher net margin, 4.37 percent against agriculture's 2.55 percent, and a higher return on equity, 9.82 percent against 2.73 percent.
Is Thai agriculture growing faster than manufacturing?
Yes. Agriculture's total revenue grew 96.5 percent between 2016 and 2025, nearly four times manufacturing's 24.6 percent gain, and trails only human health and social work as the fastest growing sector.
Why is agriculture's average company so much smaller?
Agriculture has far fewer large companies, 128 against manufacturing's 4,718, and a higher share of micro companies, 82.4 percent against 68.7 percent, so its revenue is spread across many small operators.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Thailand Agriculture vs Manufacturing: Size and Margin 2026. Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/agriculture-vs-manufacturing-companies-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.