The Malaysian Insight

THE recent lifting by the Perak government of its interstate transport ban of live pigs and pork products has not eased the movement of the animal in the peninsula, industry players said.

Pork sellers say many other hurdles remain in their effort to overcome shortage of the meat in some states.

KL-Selangor Butchers’ Association chairman Lee Peng Hock told The Malaysian Insight “there are still many regulations that prevent the supply from resuming smoothly”.

He said pigs transported from Perak to Selangor, for example, “have to go through layers of inspections” while when travelling southwards.

Perak imposed the ban over fears of the deadly African swine fever that were detected in some states.

On January 30, the Perak government banned the transportation of live pigs to slaughterhouses in Selangor, a decision that triggered a pork shortage in the state.

“The problem (African swine fever) is over,” Lee said.

“Therefore the pigs or the pork products should be allowed to move freely and be sold freely.

The authorities should not make it too difficult for the industry,” he added.

Lee said since the outbreak of the African swine fever and the movement ban on live pigs in force in certain states, the production had fallen, exacerbating the pork supply problem.

That, Lee added, had resulted in pork prices sky-rocketing in the last two years.

“Everybody in the industry continues to suffer – farmers, pig traders and restaurants.”

Lee said pork prices reached a new high when it peaked on March 1, when the price was RM1,620 per 100kg.

He said the Agriculture Ministry’s move to import pork to help ease the shortage was a short-term solution.

The cooked food industry needs to use fresh pork and only local pork can be both fresh and sweet, he said.

Lee suggested the ministry should instead actively promote pig farming as a long-term solution to meet demands.

Soo Yau Sheng, deputy secretary-general of the Kepong Hawker Association, said the ban on movement of the animal saw the re-emergence of illegal pig slaughter houses.

“Fortunately, the ban has been lifted. If not, we would be saddled with the problem of illegal pig slaughter houses and pork of questionable quality being sold in the market.”

If the Veterinary Department’s directives were to be heeded, all pigs must be slaughtered in licensed slaughterhouses approved by the department.

On the continued shortage of pork in Selangor, Soo said this was because some farms have scaled down their production as they struggle with high costs and the “cumbersome permit application process”.

“They are still worried about the African swine fever. They fear their pigs might contract the disease and have to be put down.

“The industry is afraid of incurring big losses.

“So farms stick to numbers where they are able to manage losses if the animals have to be culled.”

Soo added that industry has many questions but there are no concrete answers.

“When will the shortage ease? Will it be soon?

“These are just some of the questions being asked.”

He said with the lifting of the movement ban, the government should also step in to help quell the industry’s fears.

Pork shortage continues to be critical in Selangor because 70-80% of its supply comes from Perak.

Selangor Butchers’ Association deputy general affairs manager, Ang Ban Lee, concurred with Soo’s assessment on the shortage.

“Pig farmers are still concerned. That’s why they opted to cut down on production.

“They are still fearful of the African swine fever. They worry that they will incur huge losses if their pigs fail the AFS testing.”

The animals are tested every two weeks.

Ang said farmers have suggested that their pigs get vaccinated but the Agriculture Ministry has refused to approve the proposal on the grounds that the vaccine is not recognised by the World Health Organization.

Farmers have to buy their own testing equipment and this adds to production costs, he said.

“The equipment is really expensive,” he added.

With the ongoing problem not likely to be resolved soon, Ang said the industry feels pork prices in the peninsula are not likely to go down in the next two years. – April 14, 2023.