‘Tough government measures have reined in pork prices’
The price of pork, as well those of other goods and services, have been going down across the country, Government Spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on Thursday.
Pork price has dropped from Bt187 as of January 30 to Bt164 per kilogram, he said.
There was a nationwide furore and criticism of the government when the price last month shot up to Bt220 per kilogram.
Thanakorn said prices of other goods, such as fresh chicken and palm oil, also were decreasing.
The spokesman said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s order to inspect pork and meat storage facilities nationwide to deter possible hoarding was primarily responsible for the easing of prices.
The PM’s order required owners of cold storage to report to authorities if their stocks of pork exceeded five tonnes. Following the order, 404 meat businesses had declared being in possession of about 15.5 million kilograms of pork.
Authorities said 616 businesses had failed to report stocks totalling 19.5 million kilograms of pork and will face legal action. Twelve violators have been prosecuted of whom three have been convicted and nine others are on trial, he said.
An unspecified number of violators of other rules are also facing legal action for selling pork at prices higher than government-regulated rates and failure to produce price tags of pork prices.
A government restriction on the export of pork remains in place, which has also played an important part in controlling the price of pork, Thanakorn said. He said the government will issue another rule requiring registration for owners of small-sized, and individually owned pig farms.
