High pork prices weigh down on Thai consumers as Chinese New Year nears

Vendors sell pork at their stall inside a market in Bangkok, on Jan 10, 2022. - Reuters

BANGKOK (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Grocery shopping in Thailand these days involves more careful thinking and calculating for shoppers like insurance agent Piyanan Laohabut, who has watched the prices of pork products rise steadily in the last few months.

Driven by increasing farming costs and a dwindling supply of pigs due to swine diseases, the retail price of pork has risen at least 30 per cent in the last few weeks, from around 150 baht (S$6.07) per kg to at least 200 baht or more in some regions.