Local farmers were left perplexed when told that Brazil now supplies Maputo hence the decline in exports to that Eastern-African based State.

Noting the latest challenges, consensus was that time had come to secure the local market, first through registering with extension officers who will keep a database at regional level which will see the market sourcing pork at that level (regional) as opposed to individual farmers.

The feed has also gone up but the price of a kilo of pork has not, thus the inevitable occurs; farmers work at a loss.

Brazil is said to be charging $10 per kilo of pork, something that will Swazi farmers lose out. It is said the Brazilian Government subsidises the cost of maize as well as pork so that farmers do not and lose out on the market when their produce competes.

SA, meanwhile, has a lot of pork producers but the challenge is that Swazis often import feed and other necessities from SA, thus cannot be exporting back to the same market, competing with giants in the field.

Technoserve noted that there was great need to secure the local market instead of increase production. One way will be through using extension officers in securing a market for pork producers since these (officers)

This will also ensure that there was no over supply of pork (over trading within the industry).

Source: The Swazi Observer