The outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in China and other Asian countries has paved the way for Thai pork producers to access more market share in Hong Kong.
Mr. Surachai Sutthitham, President of The Swine Raisers Association of Thailand, told that Thai pork exports to Hong Kong rose by 40% last month due to supply shortage. This comes in line with its stringent import measures to prevent ASF diseases.
He added that ASF outbreak has killed millions of pigs in Asia and resulted short pork supply, especially in Hong Kong, where 90% of pork were imported from China. The shortage leads to new opportunity for Thai exporters.
Currently, few numbers of Thai exporters are certified by Hong Kong’s government, such as CP Foods and Betagro.
Thailand exported 895 tons of pork to Hong Kong in the first half of this year. It is forecast to reach 2,500 tons in 2019, compared with 1,408 tons last year.
Hong Kong’s customers normally order chilled and branded pork products from Thailand. However, they are starting to order frozen half carcasses of swine at a record high price to serve a high demand for fresh meat products.
“We anticipated that the shortage in Hong Kong’s would last for at least 1 – 2 years or until China can control ASF outbreak,” Mr. Surachai said, adding that, the high quality pork from Thailand would satisfied the consumer, and gain loyalty in the long run.
In addition, he shows his confidence in Thailand’s ASF preventive measures, citing a strict implementation and strong collaboration between the governments and private sectors as a key for successful measures.
Thailand has tightened its biosecurity at airports and borders shared with countries affected by ASF. Domestically, the Livestock Department and private sectors have hosted training nationwide in an effort to prepare swine farmers to tackle ASF effectively.
ASF prevention fund was set up with supports from pig farms and companies like CP Foods, Betagro, Thai Foods and others to encourage farmers to report the outbreak.