Major trade partners still have confidence in Thai pork: official

Mallika Boonmeetrakool, an adviser to Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit, said the minister has instructed envoys in key trading-partner countries to monitor the situation.

Envoys told Jurin that key trading partners were still confident in the quality and hygiene of pork imported from Thailand, Mallika said.

For example, Hong Kong has so far refrained from banning pork imports from Thailand, he added.

Meanwhile Laos is still importing Thai frozen pork but checking live pigs from Thailand closely.

Last week, the Livestock Development Department confirmed that ASF was detected in a pork sample from a slaughterhouse in Nakhon Pathom. The Agriculture Ministry has denied allegations that it covered up an earlier ASF amid a 30 per cent drop in pig supplies and soaring pork prices.

Jurin was also told that Myanmar had imposed tight controls on Thai pork importers, who required a hygiene certificate from Myanmar livestock officials.

Mallika said Cambodia stopped importing Thai pork last year in a move to promote domestic pig farming. However, Cambodia announced a total ban on Thai pig imports last week after ASF was found in Nakhon Pathom. Taiwan also banned all Thai pork imports following the ASF finding.

Meanwhile, the International Trade Promotion and Development Department will promote hygienic pig-farming practices social media to boost confidence among foreign buyers.

On the calls to allow pork imports to address the shortage in Thailand, Mallika said the country has not imported pork for years over a health scare involving red food dye.

She said government agencies would carefully weigh the issue as imports could impact Thailand’s pig farmers.

In the first 11 months of last year (January to November), Thailand exported 1.04 million live pigs worth Bt7.186 billion. It also exported 13,615.8 tonnes of pork worth Bt1.657 billion and 4,479.2 tonnes of processed pork worth Bt1.018 billion.