Khon Kaen: After the Songkran Festival, pork prices in Khon Kaen Province have skyrocketed, affecting both traders and consumers. The news team went to the Municipality 3 fresh market and found that pork prices have been increasing continuously.

According to Thai News Agency, Ms. Nonglak Arkhat, a pork vendor at the market, revealed that pork prices have been increasing since before the Songkran festival. Currently, red pork is priced at 180-190 baht per kilogram, up from 150 baht previously, an increase of around 20%. Pork belly is priced at 200-210 baht, up from 160-170 baht previously, an increase of around 25%.

Ms. Nonglak added that the main reason is the higher price of pigs at the farm due to the swine epidemic and slow growth, which has reduced the amount of pigs in the market. When the farms of origin increase the price, the retailers have to adjust the price accordingly. As a result, customers buy less pork, and profits shrink due to higher costs. The shop sells only the parts that customers like, such as loin and ground pork. Now the profits have decreased significantly.

This is consistent with information from the Kasikorn Research Center (KResearch), which stated that the main factors that caused the price of pigs to surge in April 2015 included extremely hot weather causing pigs to grow slowly, increased costs of raising pigs especially due to rising prices of animal feed like corn and soybeans, and increased demand during Songkran as restaurants, hotels, and fresh markets competed for limited raw materials.

The current situation of rising pork prices has inevitably become a heavy burden for both traders and consumers.