MLBA8: April / May 2009
Will Southeast Asia stem the tide of pork imports?
All this comes on the heels of a record-breaking 2008 performance: a pork export of 2 million tons worth nearly US$4.9 billion.
But here's the anomaly: Of all places, US pork exports to the Asean went up by 82 percent in volume (to 4,514 tons) and 78 percent in value to more than US$8 million for the month of January alone.
So why is Southeast Asia – where hog production is a major cottage industry and is fostered by all sorts of import barriers - importing tons of pork?
Two of the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations - Vietnam and the Philippines - are among the top 20 pork producers of the world. In 2007, Vietnam ranked sixth with 2.6 million tons in output, more than enough for its per capita consumption of 27.5 kg. The Philippines was No. 15 with total production of 1.25 million tons against per capita consumption of 13.9 kg. Thailand wasn't far behind, producing between 13 and 16 million hogs.
While Indonesia (its largest member in terms of population) and Malaysia are generally non-pork consumers because of their largely Muslim populations, they too are pork producers and exporters in their own right. Some states in Indonesia raise swine for the country's Chinese population and for export to Singapore. With only 25 percent of its population classified as pork eaters, Malaysia is a self-sufficient swine producer. Singapore is the only Asean member that doesn't produce any pork. It relies purely on imports.
