Local livestock numbers have been reported to be on the rise, showing that local production will soon be able to increase supply to local markets, which currently still depend strongly on imports.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government has called to increase domestic production for local supply while the sector needs to fund and promote their products Srun Pov, president of the Cambodia Livestock Raisers Association, said yesterday that currently Cambodia imports a large number of pigs from Thailand to fill the missing gaps in the market.
“As the demand of meat has increased, local livestock has also increased. If the trend continues, supply to meet domestic demands will likely be filled by just local production so we can reduce the need for imports,” Srun said.
According to the Association’s survey, Cambodia consumes 120,000 chickens and 8,000 pigs per day, with 20 percent of total pig supplies imported daily from Thailand.
Veng Sakhon, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, has also recently urged the relevant authorities to help provide technical assistance to livestock raisers in a move to increase food security amid the government’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sakhon said that he wants to see local production of livestock supply all domestic demand to reduce imports, including boosting the production of vegetables, rice and fisheries.
Srun Pov added that the livestock sector is in need of continued government support in terms of low-interest loans to help with expanding production.
“I expect that our domestic livestock raisings will be able to supply all domestic demand in the next one to two years,” Srun said. “But at the same time, raisers need the support of financwial service to help them expand and upgrade their production.”
Through the Agriculture and Rural Development Bank, the government plans to provide $50 million in low-interest loans to small and medium enterprises, including livestock raisings, which aim to help them increase production and create further profit.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
