August 9, 2011

Thai pork suffers sales drop on substitution effect

Pork sales in Thailand are suffering a sharp fall as more consumers turned to fish and chicken as the less expensive food alternatives.

Despite the Ministry of Commerce's measure to cap the price of pork to THB152 (US$5)/kg, sellers said their business remain as sluggish as ever as most customers now opt for cheaper sources of protein, mainly fish and chicken.

Compared to fish and chicken, the price of pork is still high. Fish and poultry sellers revealed that the number of customers had jumped dramatically.

Foreign buyers along the border areas have also decided to import cheaper pork from Vietnam, although the quality of Vietnamese pork is said to be lower than that of Thai pork.

Epidemics are said to have killed a number of pigs, resulting in a sharp drop in pork supply to the markets and hiking prices.