THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Meat demand shrinks due to safety concerns, lack of export markets

Meat demand shrinks due to safety concerns, lack of export markets

Domestic demand for animal feed could go down by 5-10 per cent due to shrinking consumption, said Thai Feed Mill Association chairman Pornsilp Patcharintanakul.

“The Covid-19 situation has caused domestic and overseas consumption of meat to drop, resulting in lower demand for animal feed, which could shrink by 5-10 per cent this year,” he said.
“The association has advised manufacturers to reduce their production volumes accordingly and lower the price of shrimp feed by Bt20 per bag to help farmers who are suffering from a heavy plummet in prices.
“We expect the Covid-19 situation to be at a manageable level in the next few months, and domestic consumption could then return to normal. The export sector could take a lot longer to recover, as the situation overseas is worse than in Thailand,” he added.
The association predicts the trend of meat consumption will focus more on food safety as people will eat out less and buy their own meat products based on safe, clean packaging.
“The outbreak has driven people to be more sanitation concerned,” he said.
“The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry and the Food and Drug Association must push out stricter regulations regarding food safety – from manufacturing and standards approval to quality inspection – to gain consumers’ confidence,” he said. “Meanwhile, they must promote manufacturing that is environmentally friendly for sustainable operations.”
The Thai Feed Mill Association estimates that throughout 2020 domestic demand for animal feed will be a net 20.34 million tonnes, with the top three being chicken (7.3 million tonnes), pork (5.3 million tonnes) and eggs (2.2 million tonnes).

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