The Short Version
No credible agricultural or scientific source ranks pandan among the five most commercially cultivated aromatic plants in Southeast Asia. While pandan is widely used in Southeast Asian cuisine and has genuine commercial markets, the evidence shows it is primarily grown in home gardens and small-scale settings. Well-documented crops such as lemongrass, basil, coriander, turmeric, and galangal consistently dominate commercial cultivation data in the region, and no comparative ranking supports pandan's inclusion alongside them.