The highest pork prices in a decade have vendors at Pattaya area markets squealing.
Disastrous floods that ravaged Thailand’s south last month damaged or destroyed many of the region’s pig farms, constraining supply. As a result, farmers, butchers and brokers have steadily increased prices, resulting in local prices of 150 baht per kilogram in Pattaya.
Saibua Hatyoung, a pork vendor at South Pattaya’s Wat Chaimongkol Market, said prices are higher than she’s seen them in a decade and, as a result, her business is off 50 percent, as shoppers turn to chicken and fish for cheaper meals.
Saibua Hatyoung, a pork vendor at South Pattaya’s Wat Chaimongkol Market, says prices are higher than she’s seen in a decade and, as a result, her business is off 50 percent.
Other market sellers said their business, too, is quiet with fewer customer inquiries. Their prices ranged from 120 to 150 baht per kilogram for pork meat, 95-120 baht for pig liver and 20-30 baht per kilogram for pig lung.
“If prices remain this high, many people will change to other products and pig farm owners will suffer as people protest with their wallets,” another vendor warned.
A group representing pork sellers around the country have petitioned the government for help, asking officials to restrain pork brokers who they claim are capitalizing on the short supplies to pad their pockets.
