30 June 2023

6 minute read

By: Paul Anderson

Asia

Philippines

As of March 31, 2023, the swine inventory in the Philippines stood at an estimated 10.18 million heads, which represented a 4.2 percent increase compared to the same period the previous year when the count was 9.77 million heads. The majority, approximately 76.5 percent, of the country's swine population came from small-hold farms, while commercial farms accounted for 22.3 percent, and semi-commercial farms contributed 1.2 percent.

CALABARZON had the highest swine population among the regions, reaching 1.31 million heads as of March 31, 2023. Following closely were Central Visayas and Northern Mindanao, with inventories of 1.13 million heads and 1.09 million heads, respectively. These three regions collectively represented a 34.7 percent share of the country's total swine population during the mentioned period.

The hog production from January to March 2023 was estimated to be 437.99 thousand metric tons, live-weight, indicating a 5.1 percent increase compared to the output of 416.72 thousand metric tons, live-weight, during the same period in 2022. This marked a recovery from the annual declines of -25.8 percent in 2021 and -1.2 percent in 2022.

CALABARZON emerged as the leading hog producer during this period, with a production of 61.18 thousand metric tons, live-weight, accounting for a 14.0 percent share of the total hog production. The top five regions with the highest hog production at live-weight during the quarter were:

a. Central Visayas with 57.92 thousand metric tons,

b. Northern Mindanao with 55.46 thousand metric tons,

c. Western Visayas with 52.88 thousand metric tons, and

d. Central Luzon with 40.27 thousand metric tons.

Together, these regions contributed to a 61.1 percent share of the country's total hog production during the mentioned period.

Compared to the same quarter in 2022, nine regions experienced increases in hog production. Central Luzon recorded the highest increase of 11.72 thousand metric tons, rising from 28.55 thousand metric tons in the first quarter of 2022 to 40.27 thousand metric tons in the first quarter of 2023.

During this quarter, the average farm-gate price of hogs for slaughter was reported at PhP 170.26 per kilogram, live-weight. This represents a decrease of -3.3 percent compared to the average farm-gate price of PhP 176.01 per kilogram, live-weight, in the same quarter of the previous year.

In terms of monthly variations, the highest average farm-gate price was observed in March, reaching PhP 177.22 per kilogram, live-weight. On the other hand, the lowest average farm-gate price was recorded in January at PhP 165.67 per kilogram, live-weight.

Genesus Philippines is pleased to be a major supplier of genetics (breeding gilts) to the Inspire program, in 2021 the department of Agriculture launched the Integrated National Swine Production initiatives for recovery and expansion to help the industry recover and repopulate.

Challenges Faced:

a. Disease Outbreaks: The swine industry in the Philippines continued to face challenges related to disease outbreaks, particularly African Swine Fever (ASF). Despite efforts to control and prevent the spread of ASF, occasional outbreaks had localized impacts on swine populations in certain areas.

b. Feed Prices and Supply: The industry grappled with rising feed prices and supply chain disruptions during this period. Fluctuations in raw material costs, such as corn and soybeans, impacted production costs and profitability for swine farmers.

c. Government Initiatives: The Philippine government implemented various initiatives to support the swine industry, including financial assistance programs and stricter biosecurity regulations. These efforts aimed to improve disease control measures, enhance farm productivity, and promote sustainable growth in the sector.

During the period of April to June 2023, the swine industry in the Philippines experienced moderate growth in swine inventory. The dominance of small-hold farms and the strong performance of regions like CALABARZON contributed to the overall stability of the industry. However, challenges such as disease outbreaks and feed price fluctuations require continued attention and proactive measures from stakeholders to ensure the industry's long-term sustainability.

Thailand

Pig price dips further in Thailand.

An attempt to rise pig prices of Thai pig farmers failed again as demand for pork remains slow due to poor purchasing power and smuggled pork is unstoppable.

Average price of live pigs in Thailand in late June plunged to an average of THB 74/kg (USD 2.1), down from THB 78/kg (USD 2.21) early in the month. The production cost, however, was higher to THB 90/kg (USD 2.55), according to a survey by the Office of Agricultural Economics at the Ministry of Agriculture Thailand.

The Thai Swine Raisers Association, a national grouping of Thai pig producers, tried to lift the price of live pigs early in June after 161 refrigerated containers holding 4500 million tonnes of smuggled frozen pork were intercepted by customs and livestock authorities.

But the seizure of the containers at a deep sea port in eastern Thailand was unlikely to stop the smuggling of frozen pork into the country. At the same time, increasing in sow numbers by large-scale producers in the country is leading to a huge surplus of piglets and commercial pigs.

While Thailand is at a transitional period from a caretaker government to a newly elected one, actions to stimulate the economy are being dragged on. Coupled with rising interest rates and poor economic performance, domestic consumption in Thailand will continue to slow in months to come.

Vietnam

BaF, Genesus genetic production and marketing partner in Vietnam has introduced its veggie pork onto the market in October 2022 it is a complete closed process from farm to table, Veggie pork products are from pigs fed with a non-animal protein diet. BaF uses alternative plant proteins to meet the pigs nutritional needs. BaF’s Veggie pork can be purchased through over 60 food store and 300 meat shops throughout Vietnam. Vietnam is the sixth largest pork producer in the world just behind China, The EU, USA, Russia and Brazil. Pork consumption per person in Vietnam is about 27 kgs per person per year.

The price of the pig now is 60,000 - 63,000 vnd/kg in the North; 58,000 – 62,000 vnd/kg in the centre; and 58,000 – 60,000 vnd/kg in the South. Average pig price will be around 60,000vnd/kg liveweight, for more detail, please see the link: https://vietnambiz.vn/gia-heo-hoi-hom-nay-266-cao-nhat-63000-dongkg-2023625155547285.htm.

-An enterprise applies to build a high-rise building to raise pigs in Thanh Hoa. This is Xuan Thien Thanh Hoa Joint Stock Company belongs to Xuan Thien Group (headquartered in Ninh Binh province). In Thanh Hoa province, this group has been investing in 3 high-tech pig breeding projects, with a total investment of about 36,000 billion VND (Source: https://cafef.vn/mot-doanh-nghiep-xin-xay-nha-cao-tang-de-nuoi-heo-o-thanh-hoa-188230607202633687.chn?fbclid=IwAR12X9EPIjPIwwuaZwCxWAzkyBVnv7AyAzKbUQ-XljKSqSIahTLxTgq_vZE_aem_th_AbprbBzAt5yIFi6TUCReT8Yiq8UuFVP_B1k3KK4w-PdlfjPoYINMnO0IfmeREFSMNFA&mibextid=Zxz2cZ).

Prior to the COVID-19 epidemic, the trade in pigs through unofficial channels between Vietnam and China was very active, so the price of live pigs in the two countries was similar. However, after the pandemic, China tightened the border, so the price of live pigs between the two countries became separate. That is why the live hog prices in Vietnam and China fluctuate in opposite directions (Source: https://vietnambiz.vn/vi-sao-gia-heo-hoi-viet-nam-va-trung-quoc-bien-dong-trai-chieu-2023623122918100.htm).

Over the past several years, dozens of potential businesses have been investing a lot of resources (many have invested trillions of dong) to build very modern closed pork production chains, leading in the world (with full facilities for producing animal feed, breeding stock, raising pigs for meat, slaughtering lines, processing pork). That why the government start to check out Vietnamese pork production chains (Source: https://cucthuy.gov.vn/web/guest/-/ki%E1%BB%83m-tra-c%C3%A1c-chu%E1%BB%97i-s%E1%BA%A3n-xu%E1%BA%A5t-th%E1%BB%8Bt-l%E1%BB%A3n-vi%E1%BB%87t-nam-1?redirect=%2F).

On the afternoon of May 30, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a conference to give a briefing on the results of the May direction and administration work and the implementation of the key tasks in June 2023. According to Minister Le Minh Hoan, in the coming time, the most important job of the agricultural sector is to open up the market(Source: http://cucchannuoi.gov.vn/viec-quan-trong-bay-gio-cua-nganh-nong-nghiep-la-mo-cua-thi-truong/).