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Thais snap up crocodile meat as pork prices surge
African swine fever seen hitting pork supply for months to come


Barbecued crocodile at a market stall in Bangkok in 2019. Demand for crocodile meat has spiked as an alternative to pork. © Reuters
MASAYUKI YUDA and APORNRATH PHOONPHONGPHIPHAT, Nikkei staff writersJanuary 21, 2022 12:15 JSTUpdated on January 21, 2022 19:01 JST

BANGKOK -- Demand for crocodile meat is surging in Thailand as the price of pork continues to rise due to a supply shortage caused by the spread of African swine fever in the country.

The shortage of pork, an essential part of the Thai diet, is expected to last for months. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha last week ordered government agencies to address the issues of food supplies and price surges urgently. This is particularly important for him ahead of general elections set to be held by March 2023.

"Many food vendors and restaurants have come to me to ask for crocodile meat to buy," said Wichai Roongtaweechai. The 65-year-old operates a 3 hectare farm of 10,000 crocodiles in Nakhon Pathom province, 60 km west of Bangkok. Until recently, the farm mostly sold crocodile skin to the fashion industry and the carcasses were sold or exported to restaurants, including Chinese ones, that serve exotic meats.

But over the past few weeks, his crocodile meat sales jumped to more than 100 kg per day, up from only around 20 kg a day. He said he can get around 50 kg of meat from each crocodile.

New customers show up at his farm nearly every day. Wichai said a noodle shop owner from Bangkok bought crocodile meat, as an alternative to pork, for the first time on Monday.

According to the Agriculture Ministry's Department of Fisheries, 1,150 people in the country either own crocodile farms or are involved in the crocodile trading businesses. In total, they raise around 1.2 million crocodiles per year, of which 60% are processed for meat exports -- many to China -- worth around 6 billion baht ($182 million). The remaining 40% are culled for the leather business. Only some have been sold to local restaurants of exotic dishes.

The price of crocodile meat has risen to between 80 baht and 190 baht per kilogram from 50-100 baht. The most expensive part is the tail chunk, which is soft, chewy, and low in fat.


A crocodile farm in Ayutthaya province in 2017 © Reuters

Despite the price rise, crocodile meat is still substantially cheaper than pork, which has been sold at a retail price of roughly 250 baht per kilogram recently. According to the Swine Raisers Association of Thailand, farm-gate pig prices in Thailand were quoted on Jan. 2 at around 105 baht per kilogram, about 33% more expensive than a year earlier.

Thailand detected its first case of African swine fever on its soil on Jan. 11, while the disease has swept through Africa, Europe, and Asia in recent years. Though harmless to humans, the virus gives pigs hemorrhagic fever and has a high mortality rate. Hundreds of millions of pigs have been culled due to the disease globally.

Thailand has faced a pork shortage since mid-2021 and at least 159,000 of farmed pigs were culled between March and October of 2021.

Authorities have attributed the deaths to other viral diseases and the government has repeatedly denied that there is an outbreak of African swine fever, sparking allegations of a cover-up. The farming industry believes that the disease has been circulating in Thailand for a while.

As the price of pork jumps, restaurants and street vendors have had to pass on those rises. Kor Moo Phraram 5 restaurant in western Bangkok temporarily jacked up the price of its signature grilled pork jowls by 30 baht. Well-known fried pork chain Moo Tod J Jong increased the price of fried pork and stir-fried pork liver on Jan. 3.

Sorravis Thaneto, director-general of the Department of Livestock Development at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, said last week that he hoped to solve the problem of African swine fever within eight to 12 months.

Main opposition Pheu Thai Party said in a statement on Jan. 12 that it would raise the issue of the alleged cover-up in parliament, stressing that it wanted accountability. The party also said it would submit evidence to the National Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the matter.

On Tuesday, the cabinet approved a 1.48-billion-baht ($44.8 million) budget to give the public access to affordable consumer goods at 3,000 locations nationwide and 50 mobile units in Bangkok and its vicinity for at least 90 days. This was seen as a response to Prayuth's call for the government to alleviate economic hardship.

"All government agencies shall regulate and solve the issues in order not to cause impact to the general public, especially in regards to goods hoarding and unreasonable increase in prices," government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkorngchana said on Tuesday. "We ask all businesses large and small to maintain their prices."

Wichai said he and his wife started their crocodile farm business 30 years ago. It was originally a niche business with few players and competitors. Although demand for crocodile meat has risen substantially recently, Wichai is still cautious about expanding the business as it needs a lot of investment and land.

"We need to raise them for about three to four years before they are ready to be sold. I need to think hard if I want to expand because we are not sure whether Thais' appetite would change," he said.

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Nearly a million kilograms of allegedly illegally stored pork have been discovered at a warehouse in Nakhon Pathom province, the Department of Livestock Development said on Friday.

Raid in Nakhon Pathom yields nearly 1m kg of illegally stored pork
Of the total 1,047,600 kilograms found in the warehouse, the unnamed company could produce documents to show only 81,389kg had been legally transported and stored at this refrigerated storage, the department’s director-general, Sorrawis Thaneeto, said.

The company failed to produce certificates proving the legality of the stored pork, or any documents proving legal transport of the meat to this storage. He said the illegally stored pork would be confiscated. The alleged violator faces a heavy fine along with a possible three-year prison term.

Sorrawis said the wholesale price of pork had now gone down to an average rate of Bt100 per kilogram, while the retail price at malls had fallen to Bt166, and retail price at fresh markets was Bt198-Bt208

the nation.com

I tried some crocodile meat years ago in Thailand and found it to be quite succulent and tasty.

No, it doesn't taste like chicken.

Also, a South African guy has opened a burger bar here in Geezerville serving croc burgers that make for a nice change.

It definitely has the potential to become more popular.