Cattle raisers struggle against cheap, smuggled beef

Cattle raisers struggle against cheap, smuggled beef

Southern farmers raising Thai cattle complain they have not sold any livestock in the past three months, largely because of competition from cheap, smuggled beef from India.

Ruechai Wongsuwat, chairman of a beef cattle cooperative in Phatthalung, said on Wednesday the local price for live Thai cattle was 85-90 baht per kilogramme, down recently from 105 baht/kg, but smuggled beef from India was freely available at 90 baht/kg.

The export of Thai cattle to China also faced problems because Australian cattle were being raised in Vietnam and Cambodia for export to China, he said. Thailand exported cattle to China through middlemen in Laos and Vietnam, he added.

"These problems are affecting small farmers who raise Thai cattle nationwide," Mr Ruechai said. Farmers' groups would seek help from the government in the near future.

Meedyan Lemrui, a village head in Tamot district of Phatthalung who is an adviser to local Thai cattle raisers, confirmed that local farmers, himself included, had been unable to sell any cattle for about three months. A price for live cattle below 100 baht/kg was loss-making.

The Department of Livestock Development reported that as of June 15 this year 525,689 farm families were raising about 2.7 million Thai cattle --  314,151 families in the Northeast, 130,198 in the South, 50,177 in the North and 31,163 on the Central Plain.

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