Price of Pig Feed Remains High, Local Pig Farmers Face Bankruptcy

By Soy Sophea

Cambodian pig farmers have expressed pessimism over the crippling price of feeding their pigs. Their concerns are compounded by the sale of cheap imported pork from Thailand.

These worries come despite the Prime Minister Hun Sen’s announcement earlier this month of the Government’s decision to impose no taxes on imported agricultural equipment and materials, including animal feed and raw materials for the production of animal feed. This announcement was made at the 13th Government-Private Forum held on April 23, in response to a request from the forum’s Agricultural Working Group.

He said that the decision would affect the importation of tractors, plowing machines, rice mills, harvesting equipment and machines for producing animal food.

Srun Pov, Vice President of the Cambodia Pig Association, told the Cambodia Weekly on April 28 that the price of animal foods, particularly for pigs had not fallen as yet; and whilst the price of feed remained high, consumers would pay dearly for pork.

Ing Chhayly, 37, a pig farmer in Kien Svay district, Kandal province was quick to draw the connection between cheap imports and high feed prices for local producers. He complained that, “Pork dealers are always quick enough to demand we reduce our prices, but they ignore us when we phone them to buy our pigs.”

Sawai Tangtanaporn, Vice President of the C.P. Cambodia CO., LTD which supplies agricultural food in Cambodia, said that the price of pig feed had risen from 602 riel for a kilogram in April 2006 to1,180 riel per kilogram in 2008.

The Thai business man added that the same exorbitant increases could be applied to the price of soy beans (2,850 riel in 2008, up from 1,228 riel in April 2006), cassava (360 riel in 2006, and 860 riel in 2008), wheat bran (420 riel in 2006, 925 riel in 2008), dried fish (1,600 riel in 2006, 3,150 riel in 2008) and fish meal (2,500 riel in 2006, 4,000 riel in 2008) [prices quoted are per kilogram].

Sawai also explained that pig prices in Thailand are cheaper than Cambodia. According to market prices on April 29, it costs 5,000 riel per kilogram of live pig and 10,000 riel per kilogram of pork, while in Cambodia, 9,500 riel to 10,000 riel buys a kilogram of live pig and 17,000 riel buys a kilogram of pork.

He said that he really wanted to decrease the price but he could not do so. His sincere concern for the plight of Cambodian pig farmers was modified by concern for his own interests. “If and when the Cambodian pig farmer starts to suffer, I suffer too. We stand or fall together.”