Thailand: Pork oversupply could imperil small pig farmers

The Swine Raisers Association of Thailand (SRAT) has raised concerns over the risk of small pig farms going out of business due to a worsening oversupply of pigs, while major farms are competing to expand their production capacity. The country is experiencing an excessive supply of pork because large pig farms continue expanding production without taking into account actual demand for pork, said Sitthiphan Thankiatphinyo, the SRAT president. "The production of pork, like that of any other product, needs a good balance between supply and demand," he said. Otherwise, prices can become overly high or ridiculously low as has happened previously, he said. During a previous disease outbreak, pork prices skyrocketed and consumers were badly hit, he said. By contrast, during a recent incident in which pork smuggled in from abroad flooded the local market, the price of the meat plunged and many farmers went out of business, he said. Instead of expanding capacity, Mr Sitthiphan urged that ...