March 6, 2008

Thai pork production may decline due to swine disease
 

Thailand's swine population may drop over the next four months due to the porcine epidemic diarrhoea (PED) outbreak and rising feed costs, according to Sompat Kaewpichit, deputy minister of agriculture and cooperatives.
 

PED has killed about 600,000 to 800,000 pigs over the last three months, said Sompat.

He said that would cause a drop in market hog numbers, which would lead to a loss of revenue for pig producers.

Swine experts have been invited to educate producers on the proper ways of taking care of their pigs, said Sompat. He added that Thailand should produce about 16 million pigs per year, which would be balanced with the market demand.

The Thai government is also seeking ways to help producers to secure cheaper feed, as they contribute to the production costs, according to Sompat.

THB1 = US$0.03 (March 6, 2008)