FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Swine farmers groan under weight of rising costs

Swine farmers groan under weight of rising costs

Farmers raising swine are burdened by increasing cost, compounded by recent disease outbreaks, the Swine Raisers Association of Thailand has said.

The rise in cost is due to preventive measures against African Swine Fever (ASF) in the past two years and the Covid-19 situation throughout last year for pigs and workers, association vice president Wiwat Pongwiwatchai said.

“We estimate that these investments have driven up the cost of swine raising by about Bt300 per animal,” he said.

“Furthermore, the cost of animal feed is also rising following the rising price of soybean and soybean meal in the global market where it has reached the highest point in the past five years due to lower global output,” he added. “Domestically produced raw materials for animal feed such as corn, tapioca and rice bran are also seeing an increase in price due to the government’s price guarantee scheme. These factors have put swine farmers nationwide in a difficult position.”

Wiwat added that according to Office of Agricultural Economics’ (OAE) data, the average cost of swine raising is at Bt75 per kilogram, while the current swine price at farm as announced by the association is at Bt76-Bt80 per kilogram.

“We expect that the OAE will announce the average cost of swine raising for the first quarter of 2021 at Bt78, as the drought could start as early as March and will drive the price of animal feed up even further. We also estimate that the rainy season this year will end sooner and leave us with a longer drought period in the second half of the year.

“The association will be working with the Ministry of Commerce’s Department of Internal Trade in keeping the price at farms nationwide at Bt80 per kilogram to help domestic consumers even though the cost is approaching Bt80 per kilogram,” he added.

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