Pig farmers call for help to boost pig price

Pig farmers from Ratchaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Suphan Buri and Kanchanaburi provinces gathered at a hotel in Ratchaburi’s Muang district on Monday with the deputy governor of Ratchaburi for a serious discussion on how to boost the price of live pigs in four months.

The pig farmers claimed that the price of ex-farm live pigs has been nosedived steadily for almost a year to the present level of 53 baht per kilgramme against their cost at between 60-63 baht per kg.

Mr Nipat Nuanim, president of Ratchaburi Pig Farmers Association, told the meeting that, after ten months, there has been no positive sign that the price of live pigs will rebound. He blamed the price drop to huge number of pigs in the four provinces which collectively account for 25 percent of pigs of the whole country and the movements of pigs to other provinces.

He said that pig farmers in the western region are facing loss of between 900-1,000 baht for each live pig sold at between 5,300-5,400 baht per each pig of 100 kgs compared to the cost at 6,300 baht for each pig.

After the discussion, the meeting agreed to seek cooperation from all sectors to try to push the price of live pigs up to 63 baht per kg within four months.