Consumers might be able to breathe a sigh of relief after the government imposed a temporary ban on the export of pigs and piglets yesterday, in an effort to rein in rising pork prices.
The moratorium, which comes into effect today and will last for three months, is expected to put the brakes on rapidly increasing prices of pork, which have soared from 150 baht per kilogramme to over 200 baht/kg in just two weeks.
The government also ordered farmers and traders with more than 500 pigs, as well as operators of cold storage warehouses keeping more than five tonnes of pork, to report their stocks and prices to the Department of Internal Trade. At the meeting, retailers also were instructed not to jack up prices and clearly display prices for consumers.
In reality, there are questions whether the temporary ban will bring about significant changes, as some estimate the move will increase the supply of pork in the domestic market by just 10%.
The government also hinted that it might import more pig products from overseas.
Stop-gap imports and temporary bans on exports are short-term solutions, and without solving the problem at the root, pork prices will undoubtedly rise again.
The spike in pork prices is driven by the fact that over the past two years, the Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the local swine industry.
About 70% of Thailand's pork supplies comes from small-scale farmers, while only about 30% comes from farms run by major corporations. According to the Swine Raisers Association, around 50% of small-scale farmers, who account for the majority of the country's pork supplies, have left the business as they can't afford the higher cost of operating in a pandemic.
Worse still, many farmers' pig stocks have been hit by a disease which association president Nipat Nuanim believes to be African Swine Fever, that threatens to decimate the industry.
Instead of culling infected livestock and compensating farmers the way other countries such as China have done, the Department of Livestock Development, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, has been accused of covering up the outbreak.
The department denied the allegation, saying the outbreak is caused by the Porcine Reproduction and Respiratory Syndrom (PPRS), for which a vaccine is available.
Regardless of the claim's truth, the damage to the swine industry has been done. Now, the department must clear its name by proving with laboratory test results that the outbreaks wasn't caused by ASF.
This isn't the first time a government agency has been accused of concealing an outbreak. About a decade ago, the government was accused of covering up a bird flu outbreak to protect the poultry industry.
The government must realise covering up outbreaks will only undermine the image of Thailand's food industry.
Once the short-term supply problems have been addressed, the government needs to provide assistance for farmers to upgrade their standards so Thai pork will be able to compete better in the market.