Page 11 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Thai pig farmers angered by turmoil from suspected AFS
IN February 2022, of- ficials identified the first case of ASF in the prov- ince of Nakhon Pathom after years of saying it was not in Thailand – unleashing a political firestorm as pork prices hit an all-time high – where they may stay for months.
die and sell off the healthy ones,” Ms Jintana said.
prevent ASF, which is why it wasn't found before,” Mr Bunyagith said.
While small farms struggle, shares of Thai- land’s biggest food pro- ducer Charoen Pokphand Foods Pcl jumped in Jan- uary to their highest in nearly seven months, and shares of peer Thaifoods Group Pcl hit their highest since April.
Business began unravel- ling for Thai pig farmer Jintana Jamjumrus two years prior, when dozens of her animals got feverish and died within days of a mysterious illness she sus- pected of being African swine fever.
An earlier warning would have saved the livelihoods of the small farmers and perhaps averted the pork shortage that drove retail prices in Bangkok to $A9.28/ kg on January 11 – the highest daily average in a database stretching back to 2001.
By the time Thailand confirmed the first ASF outbreak in February, nearly 100,000 small- holders – or those rearing upto50pigs–haddis- appeared, leaving only 79,000, according to gov- ernment figures on the livestock industry.
Kasikorn Research Center’s Kevalin Wang- pichayasuk said further shrinking of small farms’ market share had longer- term implications for food prices.
Pig farmer Jintana Jamjumrus pictured in front of her empty pig farm in Nakhon Pathom province in January 2022. Photos: Reuters
Jintana Jamjumrus plays with one of her remaining pigs.
A remaining pig seen inside an empty pig farm in Nakhon Pathom province in Thailand.
Speaking of the offi- cials, “There's no way they didn't know,” 75-year-old Ms Jintana said.
The high prices led to a ban on exports of live ani- mals until April – and con- sumer prices could stay high as production may take months to recover, putting further strain on rural communities reeling from the hog losses.
Small farmer herds were halved to 1 million pigs – accounting for the bulk of the loss in the na- tional herd, which stands at 10.85 million, down 17 percent from last year’s 13.1 million.
“Smallholders’ gradual disappearance means fewer players and lower competition, which will have an impact on price,” Ms Kevalin said.
“Pigs died all over the country.
Bureau of Disease Con- trol and Veterinary Ser- vices director Bunyagith Pinprasong said since the confirmation, Thailand has uncovered African swine fever in 22 areas of 13 provinces and culled more than 400 pigs – all on small farms.
Smallholders and small farms – or those with herds of between 51 and 500 animals – normally contribute about 30 per- cent of Thailand's pork production of about 19 to 20 million pigs – about 18 million of which are con- sumed domestically and the rest exported.
Mr Bunyagith said rearing new animals to bridge the gap would take up to 10 months, so the government plans to offer smallholders loans and new piglets to help rebuild.
“Why the cover-up? “What can they do now? “There's nothing left.” In parliament, an oppo-
But farmers said they had lost faith in the gov- ernment and doubted pig farming could still yield a livelihood, at least until a vaccine for ASF was found.
sition lawmaker accused the government of a years- long cover-up, though a deputy agriculture min- ister denied this, saying authorities had success- fully kept the disease out in previous years.
Between 2019 and 2021, livestock authorities culled nearly 300,000 pigs deemed at high risk of Af- rican swine fever, though according to Mr Buny- agith it was never detected in any samples from dead pigs.
“The current decrease in pigs is due to previous disease outbreaks, not because of African swine fever,” Mr Bunyagith said, adding that PRRS and classical swine fever were the most common diseases in Thai pigs, with vaccines available for both.
Jamnian Iangjiam said she gave up pig farming after two attempts to re- start with new piglets, though saw them get sick too.
However, small farmers – whose losses have driven 54 percent of them out of business in the past year – are sceptical.
Apparently, most pig deaths earlier were be- cause of porcine repro- ductive and respiratory syndrome.
“I'm in debt because I spent my last savings on raising new pigs, and now I have nothing.”
Particularly as the viral disease for which there is no vaccine has killed hun- dreds of millions of pigs in Europe and Asia since 2018.
“We implemented strict and effective measures to
“But whether PRRS or ASF, there will be losses for smallholders without a good farm management system.”
“I'm done,” Ms Jamnian said, her pig pens empty since May.
“I had to let the sick ones
“My business was all gone.”
“We will control and curb its spread until a vac- cine is developed.”
Come join us!
PIX AMC Pork Production Conference Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre https://pixamc.com.au/registration
Sunday, 15 May 2022
Exhibition and trade displays
Monday, 16 May 2022
Session 1: Social License and the Future of Pig Farming in Australia
Pork production in Australia – What will the next 5, 10 and 20 years look like? Dr Robert van Barneveld, SunPork Group The new NZ Model Code for Pigs – What’s changed? NZ Pork
Are farrowing crates defendable? Producer Panel discussion.
Session 2: Are We Ready for ASF?
Biosecurity preparedness – Did we learn anything from COVID-19? Dr Kirsty Richards, SunPork Group
ASF in feral pigs - Spread modelling suggests it may be manageable? Dr Richard Bradhurst, CEBRA, University of Melbourne
Pork Production Conference Dinner
Tuesday 17 May 2022
Session 3: Understanding our Markets
Global pork markets and trade outlook. Brett Stuart, Global AgriTrends
Session 4: Practical Science and Pig Production
Global R&D round-up. Dr Roger Campbell, RG Campbell Advisory
What’s more important, extra pigs per litter or heavier carcasses? Kenton Shaw, SunPork Group Building a pig shed – here’s what it will need to look like. Marcus Jones, Stockyard Industries
Session 5: Consumer Trends
Consumer trends coming our way, what does this mean for Australian pork? Prof David Hughes, Imperial College London Plant proteins - hot air or a market disruption we will have to deal with? Dr Paul Higgins, Emergent Futures
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Australian Pork Newspaper, March 2022 – Page 11