As pork prices soar, MP calls for govt intervention
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (Mafi) has been urged to address soaring pork prices by compensating for culling due to African swine fever (ASF).
In a statement today, Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin said such a policy would encourage the reporting of ASF, control the spread of the disease and ultimately reduce losses among pig farmers.
kt comments: It was precisely the lack of compensation for culled pigs affected previously by the Nipah virus that encouraged and led to the "smuggling" of pigs of one area to another to avoid inspection and culling, thus prolonging the duration of the virus spread. Pig farmers were "moving" pigs by way of their transportation including cars. I suppose it's extremely difficult for a Malay-led government to compensate Chinese pig farmers
Sim is the PKR spokesperson for agriculture and commodities and a former deputy agriculture minister.
He said state governments could also help by reviving modern pig farming (MPF) projects which he argued is better long term because it reduces pollution, increases productivity and reduces the risk of diseases.
"It is expensive to build MPF. The federal government must facilitate farmers to get approvals and provide loans and credits to build MPF," he said.
Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin
Sim said the price of a pig is RM1,090 today, up from RM680 last year.
"Consumers are asking why. There are several reasons. The feed price has gone up tremendously from RM700 per tonne to RM1,800 per tonne. Feed is 60 percent of production cost," he said.
He explained that culling due to ASF was the second reason. Many farmers, he said, had cut down the number of livestock for fear of suffering losses.
Sim said the current shortage should be taken as an opportunity, citing how proactive measures taken by China in 2018 when ASF first hit now resulted in an oversupply of pork within three years.
Separately, Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin and Rasah MP Cha Kee Chin urged Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Ronald Kiandee to help pig farmers maintain output, warning that any decrease will impact national food security.
"We would also like to urge that the federal government acknowledge the important role played by pig farmers in maintaining food security by providing some kind of financial assistance to pig farmers, and this may be in the form of guarantees, loans, cost-sharing arrangements, wage subsidies, feed subsidies and entrepreneurship grants, among others.
"On the other hand, state governments may also assist by providing assessment and/or quit-rent reduction or waiver.
"State governments can also assist in reducing red tape and speeding up issuances of licences or assist with the fulfilment of other legal requirements for setting up of pig farms," said the duo.
Sim said the price of a pig is RM1,090 today, up from RM680 last year.
"Consumers are asking why. There are several reasons. The feed price has gone up tremendously from RM700 per tonne to RM1,800 per tonne. Feed is 60 percent of production cost," he said.
He explained that culling due to ASF was the second reason. Many farmers, he said, had cut down the number of livestock for fear of suffering losses.
Sim said the current shortage should be taken as an opportunity, citing how proactive measures taken by China in 2018 when ASF first hit now resulted in an oversupply of pork within three years.
Separately, Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin and Rasah MP Cha Kee Chin urged Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Ronald Kiandee to help pig farmers maintain output, warning that any decrease will impact national food security.
"We would also like to urge that the federal government acknowledge the important role played by pig farmers in maintaining food security by providing some kind of financial assistance to pig farmers, and this may be in the form of guarantees, loans, cost-sharing arrangements, wage subsidies, feed subsidies and entrepreneurship grants, among others.
"On the other hand, state governments may also assist by providing assessment and/or quit-rent reduction or waiver.
"State governments can also assist in reducing red tape and speeding up issuances of licences or assist with the fulfilment of other legal requirements for setting up of pig farms," said the duo.
The majority of State Governments in Malaysia actually have an overt or covert agenda to phase out pig farming in their respective jurisdictions.
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