Goat raising increasing but still not enough to meet demand: Livestock Dept
Sorawit Thanito, director-general of the Livestock Development Department said this week that the goat market in Thailand has been growing exponentially with increasing demand for domestic consumption and export.
“In 2007 Thailand had 38,653 households raising a total of 444,774 goats,” he said. “Last year, we had 65,850 households and 832,533 goats.”
With proper promotion, goats can be a new economic livestock, as they are resilient to drought and require small amount of water to raise, he added.
Sorawit further explained that at present 64 provinces in Thailand has goat farmer associations consisting of more than 500 groups of local farmers. They receive financial support through the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and Livestock Development Department as well as from local administration offices.
“Domestic annual consumption is estimated at 377,000 goats per year, with additional export to Malaysia and Laos of 140,000 animals, meaning that there is a shortage. “Last year we had to import 39,231 goats from Myanmar to satisfy domestic market.”
Sorawit added that his department is committed to promoting goat raising in Thailand by facilitating knowledge and technology transfer from existing farmers to new ones through the training courses provided by the department. “Moreover, we have organized the National Goat Fair annually where goat farmers can share their experience and know-how, as well as sell their products to the public and participate in goat breed contests,” he added.
The next National Goat Fair will be held on January 17-19 at the Sufficiency Economy Centre of Muak Lek district in Saraburi.