Swine smugglers put on notice
The Ministry of Agriculture has authorised a new private sector task force to investigate reports of widespread pig smuggling and bogus pig-raising operations, which domestic pig farmers claim have put market prices on live swine in a trough. The task force is led by agro-industrial tycoon Mong Reththy, whose eponymous conglomerate operates the country’s largest industrial piggery, and includes representatives of agro-food giant CP Cambodia and several smaller hog-raising farms and associations. “The investigating team will monitor pig smuggling activities and report any incidents of illicit trade to the relevant ministries and customs police so they can take action,” Reththy said on May 16. He explained that the market price on imported live swine has fallen to as low as $1.3 per kilo, well below the price on domestic-raised pigs, currently $1.6 per kilo. He said this was inexplicably cheap given that the market price in Thailand and Vietnam is also $1.6 per kilo and imported pigs are subject to a 15 percent VAT as well as additional charges.
