NAKHON PATHOM, Thailand: Business began unravelling for Thai pig farmer Jintana Jamjumrus two years ago, after dozens of her animals got feverish and died within days of a mysterious illness she suspected of being a viral disease with no known vaccine, African swine fever .in Jintana's province of Nakhon Pathom, after years of saying it was not in Thailand, unleashing a political firestorm as pork prices hit an all-time high near which they may stay for months.
But small farmers, whose losses have driven 54 per cent of them out of business in the past year, are sceptical, particularly as the viral disease, for which there is no vaccine, has killed hundreds of millions of pigs in Europe and Asia since 2018. 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, said Bunyagith Pinprasong, the director of the Bureau of Disease Control and Veterinary Services.
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 million to 20 million pigs, about 18 million of which are consumed domestically and the rest exported. While small farms struggle, shares of Thailand's biggest food producer, Charoen Pokphand Foods, jumped in January to their highest in nearly seven months, and shares of peer Thaifoods Group hit their highest since April.
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.