Blue-ear pig disease strikes again

A 30% fall in pig production is likely this year from PRRSV virus. In China this disease reached epidemic proportions in 2006.

Click button to listen to Swine Disease to download

Pork prices to fall on better swine supply, Ravaged by virus, current output cut 30% by Walailak Keeratipipatpong & Phusadee Arunmas

Swine raisers expect the present high pork prices to come down over the next six months as new pigs entering the market make up for the present shortfall being blamed on a virus.

They said porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRSV), also known as blue-ear pig disease, has reduced output, pushing retail pork prices to a record high of 160 baht a kilogramme from an average of 90-100 baht last year.

The PRRSV virus causes reproductive failure in breeding stock and respiratory tract illness in young pigs. It has hit Asia including Thailand hard since last year.

Swine output in Thailand is expected to fall by 30% this year from a previously estimated 12 million animals.

Surachai Sutthitham, president of the Swine Raisers Association of Thailand, said the local industry had also been affected by other ailments including porcine epidemic diarrhoea and foot-and-mouth disease.

As well, the hotter weather alone has shaved 14.5% off average daily production of 38,000 animals, he said.

Mr Surachai and major raisers' associations from several provinces yesterday said the high pork prices were also due to rising production costs.

The cost of feed meal ingredients has increased by an average of 20%, especially prices of broken rice, rice bran and soybean meal, pushing up feed to 75-80 baht/kg from 60 baht in past years.

The higher costs make the Internal Trade Department's suggested farm-gate price of 79-85 baht/kg for live pigs and retail price of 140-150 baht impractical, said Mr Surachai.

The associations said disease has lifted the prices of live pigs throughout Asia. In China, they are going for the equivalent of 102 baht/kg from 100 baht last week, while in Taiwan the price is 118 baht from 112 baht.

Farm-gate prices in Thailand are much cheaper compared with those countries or even Cambodia and Laos, where live pigs are priced at 92-94 and 88-92 baht/kg, respectively.

However, raisers note that not all cuts of pork are sold at high prices. Tenderloin and sirloin fetch up to 160 baht/kg, but other cuts cost less.

Mr Surachai said Thai farmers' timely containment of PRRSV has helped mitigate the effects of the virus, and he expects full operations to resume soon.

He believes pork prices will come down over the next six months.

It takes 5-6 months to raise a commercially viable hog weighing 90-100 kg. A hog is any pig weighing more than 54 kg.

Associations representing provinces in the Central region, which control 70% of pig production, suggest the government rely on market mechanisms rather than price-control measures.

Currently, about two-thirds of Thailand's 200,000 pig farmers are small operators with only limited capability to deal with new threats such as disease and climate change.

To keep prices down, the Internal Trade Department will work to ensure a sufficient domestic supply of live swine.

Exporters will need to obtain permission to ship their goods, while raisers will have to report their capacity and production figures.

Permission will be required for exports of both pigs and pork. Earlier, the department controlled only pig shipments.

(Source: Bangkok Post, Pork prices to fall on better swine supply, Ravaged by virus, current output cut 30, 5/08/2011, Walailak Keeratipipatpong & Phusadee Arunmas, link) 

the domestic pig - (a domesticated livestock animal, farmed for its meat, known as pork (bacon, ham, sausages, etc; a stout-bodied short-legged omnivorous animal) "a domesticated animal that traces its ancestry to the wild boar, and is considered a subspecies of the wild boar or a distinct species in its own right. It is likely the wild boar was domesticated as early as 13,000 BC in the Tigris River basin. Pigs are farmed for the consumption of their flesh, but some cultures have religious dietary laws that forbid the consumption of pig meat. While pigs have been raised in open fields or pens tended by swineherds, the animals are raised in modern industrialized nations in intensive farming facilities colloquially known as "factory farms". These facilities have provoked heated animal welfare debates regarding their alleged cruelty. The animal's bones, hide, and bristles have been fashioned into items for human use such as brushes, and pigs have been kept as pets, especially the pot bellied pig. Miss Piggy, Babe, and Porky the Pig represent the domestic pig in entertainment and "The Three Little Pigs", Charlotte's Web, and The Sheep-Pig are prominent examples of the domestic pig in literature."(See Wikipedia and Google Definitions)

swine - same as "domestic pig"
hog - same as "domestic pig" (though for commercial purposes in Thailand defined as: "any pig weighing more than 54 kg")

domestication - the process whereby a population of animals or plants becomes accustomed to living with humans, being taken care of by humans, under human control and under selective breeding by humans, "for a wide range of reasons: to produce food or valuable commodities (such as wool, cotton, or silk), for help with various types of work (such as transportation, protection, and warfare), scientific research, or simply to enjoy as companions or ornaments," also called "taming" (See Wikipedia)

domesticated animal - an animal living with or raised by humans, having undergone a process of "domestication" 
domestic (adjective) - a domesticated animal, an animal that has undergone domestication

swine raisers - farmers who "raise" pigs as a business and then sell them for a profit
swine output - the number (or gross weight) of pigs produced (by one farmer or a whole country)
swine supply - the number of pigs being sold (at one point in time) 
pork - pig meat (See Wikipedia)

porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRSV) - a disease that caused massive damage to the US pork industry starting in 1987, in 2006 an epidemic of the disease raged in China (See Wikipedia and description of disease)
blue-ear pig disease - same as "PRRSV"
PRRSV virus - the virus that causes the disease PRRSV

porcine - related to pigs (See Google Definitions)
respiratory - relating to the process of breathing air in and out ระบบทางเดินหายใจ เกี่ยวกับการหายใจ
respiratory tract - the passageway formed by the mouth, nose, throat, and lungs, through which air passes during breathing (See Wikipedia and Google Definitions)
respiratory tract illness - (See Wikipedia)

virus - a very small thing that causes difficult to treat diseases such as AIDS, the common cold and some forms of cancer, smaller than a bacteria and cannot reproduce by itself so doesn't really qualify as a living thing, "an infective agent that typically consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein coat, is too small to be seen by light microscopy, and is able to multiply only within the living cells of a host," one type of microorganism studied in  microbiology (See Wikipedia and Google Definitions)

ravaged - harmed and damaged so that it is almost completely destroyed
ravaged by virus - almost completely destroyed by a virus

current - of the present time ปัจจุบัน

shortfall - an amount which is less than the level that was expected or needed จำนวนที่ขาดไป, ปริมาณที่ขาดไป
make up for a short fall - produce more after producing less (so that in the end, no negative effect from "shortfall")

X blamed on Y - people say Y was the cause of bad event X

retail - to sell directly to the public for their own use ขายปลีก
retail pork prices - the price of pig meat in stores

record - the best or most ever achieved สถิติ
record high - the highest level ever reached

reproduction (noun) - reproduction of living things, the biological process of animals and plants making more animals and plants (by "sex") (See Wikipedia)
reproductive (adjective)
reproductive failure - not making any babies during your life

breeding - animal breeding, the keeping of animals or plants in order to produce young animals from them การผสมพันธุ์สัตว์เพื่อขยายพันธุ์ (See Wikipedia)
stock - pigs, cattle, sheep and other animals bred, raised, kept by farmers
breeding stock - special animals used to make more animals (reproduce, have sex), selected for good features or qualities they will pass onto to their babies, this is called "selective breeding" (See Wikipedia)

expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
expected to fall - experts believe it will decrease
the local industry - the industry in this country (here: Thailand)

ailment - an illness, sickness, disease (usually not serious)
epidemic - a large number of cases of a particular disease happening at the same time in a particular communitywhen a disease spreads quickly to many animals or humans (See Wikipedia) โรคระบาด
diarrhoea - when a lot of watery waste (faeces, stool, poop, crap) comes out of a person's backside (anus, butt) when they are sick, also spelt "diarrhea" (See Wikipedia)

porcine epidemic diarrhoea - a diarrhoea disease in young animals caused by a Coronavirus, has had a large economic effect on food production, also known as "porcine corona virus" or "porcine transmissible gastroenteritis coronavirus" (See Wikipedia and Coronavirus)

foot-and-mouth disease - a contagious viral disease of cattle, pigs and sheep (cloven-footed animals) causing ulcers around the mouth and feet (hoofs) (See Wikipedia and Google Definitions)

feed - animal feed, food for animals (See Wikipedia)
meal - a rough powder made of cruched or ground grain, used to make animal food and flour for bread (also "coarsely ground flour")
feed meal - meal used to make animal food

ingredients - foods that are used with other foods in the preparation of a particular dish ส่วนประกอบ
rice bran - a by-product of rice milling process that is used as food for animals (See Wikipedia)
soybean meal - "a flour made by grinding the solid residue of soybean oil production. It is widely used as a filler and source of protein in animal diets, including pig, chicken, cattle, horse, sheep, and fish feed" (See Wikipedia)

farm-gate price - the price paid to the agricultural producer for his or her product, the net value of the product when it leaves the farm, after marketing costs have been subtracted (See Wikipedia and Google Definitions)

impractical - not practical; an idea that does not work in the real world, not practical ไม่เหมาะสมในทางปฏิบัติ of something that cannot be done or used easily or effectively ซึ่งไม่มีประสิทธิภาพเมื่อนำมาใช้งานจริง,ที่ใช้งานไม่ได้
equivalent - the same as เท่าเทียมกันกับ

cuts of pork - large pieces of meat cut off the pig by a butcher and then sold to customers, also called a "primal cut" (See Wikipedia and here)
butcher - an expert in preparing standard "cuts of meat" (pork, beef, chicken) for use in cooking (See Wikipedia)
tenderloin - pork tenderloin, meat from the loin of a pig that is almost free of fat, often sold in stores as prepackaged seasoned products (flavored with a marinade) (See Wikipedia)
sirloin - sirloin steak, a high quality piece of meat (steak) cut from the rear back portion of the animal (See Wikipedia)
fetch - to be sold for a particular amount of money ขายในราคาหนึ่ง

containment of disease - preventing a disease from spreading (limiting the spread of a disease)
timely - done quickly, done in time to get benefits from doing it; happening at the most suitable time ถูกกาละเทศะ
containment of PRRSV - limiting spread of the PRRSV virus
timely containment of PRRSV - able to limit the spread of PRRSV virus in time (so not much damage)

mitigate - to make something less harmful or serious บรรเทา
resume - to begin again after stopping for a period of time ดำเนินต่อไปใหม่, กลับมาอีกครั้ง (ธุรกิจ) ที่ฟื้นตัวอีกครั้ง

viable - 1. able to survive and continue its life; 2. able to work as intended and not fail ซึ่งใช้การได้ (แผนการ, คำแนะนำ) ซึ่งประสบผลสำเร็จได้
commercially viable - able to be used in a business, able to be bought and sold for a profit
commercially viable hog - a pig that has the right weight and quality to be sold for its meat

market mechanisms - when markets work freely to set a price that matches demand with supply (market clearing price)
measures - actions taken to solve a problem มาตรการ actions taken (things done to solve a problem or achieve a goal)
price-control measures - when the price is set by the government (not determined by supply and demand in the market)

operators - companies doing some business (example: mobile phone operators)
small operators - small businesses
capability - the ability to do something ความสามารถ
limited capability - limited ability to do something (will fail if task is beyond its capability)
threat - danger
climate - the general weather conditions usually found in a particular place สภาพอากาศ
climate change - ":The change in global climate patterns apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards, attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels" (See Wikipedia and Google Definitions)

ensure - to make certain that something happens or is done รับรอง ให้ความมั่นใจ ให้การยืนยัน รับรอง
sufficient - enough พอเพียง
domestic - within the country ภายในประเทศ
ensure sufficient domestic supply - make sure there is enough of the good in the country
permission - allowing someone to do something การอนุญาต,การอนุมัติ,การยินยอม
capacity - the ability to do something, the amount that a factory or plant could produce if all the equipment was in use all the time ความสามารถในการทำงาน
figures - statistics, numbers describing the economy
production figures - production numbers, the numbers produced in a period of time by one company or a whole group of companies