Bangkok - Thailand plans to impose a ban on pig exports in a bid to reduce rising domestic pork prices, media reports said Saturday. Commerce Minister Mingkwan Sangsuwan, a member of the People Power Party (PPP) that won last December's general election on a populist platform, announced the export ban on Friday.
Mingkwan claimed the ban was necessary to help halt the illegal smuggling of pigs and pork products to neighbouring countries Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, where prices are considerably higher than in Thailand, said The Nation newspaper.
"The movement of pigs will require official approval and there will be a ban on exports," said Mingkwan, who since taking on the post of commerce minister has imposed several measures aimed at reducing food prices for the domestic market, which is battling high inflationary pressure due to rising production costs caused by escalating fuel and feedmeal prices.
The announced export ban has raised immediate criticism from Thailand's pig farmers, who supply an estimated 40,000 pigs to the domestic market daily.
"It's a political-style solution without taking into account the entire structure of the industry and all stakeholders," Swine Raisers Association secretary Kiddivong Sombuntham told the Bangkok Post.
Kiddiving noted that Thailand's port exports, mainly to Japan and Hong Kong, account for less than 1 per cent of the total supply, while only 50,000 live pigs are exported each year to neighbouring countries Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
The price of a piglet has more than doubled from 800 baht (25 dollars) a head last year to 1,800 baht (97 dollars) at present.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's unique solution to the soaring pork prices has been to advice consumers to eat more chicken.
