THAILAND'S soaring prices of pork is probably due to traders hogging supplies rather than the African Swine Fever (ASF) that has affected pig farms in the country.
Deputy Agriculture Minister Prapat Pothasuthon said the domestic spread of ASF may be only partly to blame for the hike in pork prices.
According to a Bangkok Post report, he said some 350,000 piglets were raised in the country last year and the number of pigs slaughtered has not dropped.
"It's interesting to ask why the pork prices keep going up," he said, adding that the answer could lie in pork supplies being hogged during the festive period from November to December last year, driving up retail prices.
Prapat said the Agriculture Ministry was working with the Commerce Ministry to get to the bottom of the matter.
He said the Department of Livestock Development (DLD) has set up local war rooms to look for any signs of an ASF outbreak in at-risk areas nationwide.
Livestock officials will also help small-scale pig farmers step up disease prevention measures, he said.
"Once ASF is detected, the department will move in to implement strict measures to contain it and minimise the impact on farmers," he said.
DLD director-general Sorawit Thanito said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has expressed deep concern about the discovery of ASF in the country and held an urgent meeting on Friday involving various agencies to combat the disease.
Following the meeting, Sorawit later chaired a remote meeting with heads of provincial livestock offices and ordered them to form a war room to provide people with regular updates on the situation.
They will also need to report their handling of commercial pig movements and disease prevention.
The department will register pig farmers and take stock of the pork supply and distribution systems as well as the quantity destined for export, he said, Consumer demand for pork will also be measured and the DLD is now working with the Commerce Ministry to inspect cold storages and warehouses to prevent the hogging of pork supplies ahead of the Chinese New Year next month.
The risk of ASF must be assessed before a farm is allowed to raise a new round of pigs as the disease has no vaccine or specific cure.