Thailand's pig industry is slowly stepping out of the crisis
Thai pig industry is slowly recovering from a price crises that affected producers all over the country. Pig prices in Thailand edged higher in the second week of January 2018 to THB 45-50/kg (USD 1.36 – 1.52) live after it was at THB 30-35/kg (USD 0.9 – 1.0) in December 2017. This a sign of the fixing the oversupply that unbalanced the market in the last year, considers Paul Anderson, Genesus Director for South-East Asia Market, in a recent analysis.
At the end of the fiscal year 2017, in September, official data from Thailand referring to pig production in the country mentioned 10,191,784 pigs during September 2016 – 2017. The number is divided into native pigs 650,972 heads, terminal boars 73,493 heads, sows 861,553 heads and commercial pigs 8,605,766 heads.
Many of the producers have adapted to new selling techniques offering portioned pork directly to customers and end-users in order to reduce their losses. Despite the decrease in prices in live pigs, retail prices remain unchanged, particularly in high-value cuts such as belly and loin, products that can minimize losses from live pig sales significantly. As an effect of this new strategy, the number of cutting plants and pork shops across Thailand has multiplied.
At this point, the price for live pigs are under the cost of production, which is estimated to be around THB 50/kg (USD 1.52) but the forecast for 2018 estimated that the price would surpass this level in the second or third quarter of the year.
The secondary effect that took place in Thai pork market was the tendency to slaughter heavier pigs. Average slaughter weight in the country ranges from 95-100kg but the crisis has pushed the slaughter weight at 115-120kg.
(Photo source: Pixabay)
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