Agriculture Minister Pushes for Pig Imports

The Minister for Agriculture yesterday appealed to buyers to address the shortage of pigs in Phnom Penh by applying for licenses that would allow them to import more livestock from neighboring countries. An industry representative and a market expert, however, warned of the potential fallout that more imports could have on Cambodian pig farmers. “Phnom Penh does not have a balance of pig supply and demand,” Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun said in the statement, adding that increasing pig imports would help stabilize prices, encourage local pig production and enhance quality. Pig suppliers are enquired to register with the ministry within 60 days of the release of the statement to obtain an import license for live pigs. “The companies must show supply contracts with companies or the pig farms of the exporting country,” Said Mr Sarun. Srun Pov, deputy president of the Cambodian Pig Raisers Association, said importing live pigs would be unfavorable to Cambodian farmers, who would likely be hit by a drop in prices. “Our farmers are raising their pigs because they sell at a high price,” said Mr Pov, adding that the current price for live pigs is about 9,500 riel, or $2.37, per kilogram, up from 8,500 riel a year ago. “But if we don’t allow them to be imported from abroad, we will lack the supply of pigs,” Mr Pov said. Mr Pov said Cambodia is experiencing a shortage of about 2,000 pigs per day and that his is one of 10 companies that are preparing to apply for import licenses. Prathna Preap, a swine market expert at USAID, the development arm of the us government, also said that an increase in pig exports would negatively impact domestic producers here. “The price for live pigs is increasing slightly, but if there are more imports, prices will decline and farmers will suspend or quit their pig-raising activities,” said Mr Preap, adding that Phnom Penh needs about 2,500 pig per day to meet demand. “Our farmers will not be able to compete with the price set by exporting countries due to limited pig raising techniques here and the fact that there are very few animal meal processing plants,” he said.