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Thai pig farmers angered by havoc from suspected African swine fever

  • Government denies any cover-up
  • Unlike neighbours, Thailand had said it was free of deadly ASF
  • Small pig farmers hit hardest, 54% driven out of business
  • Consumer pork prices at record, likely to stay high for months

NAKHON PATHOM, Thailand, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Business began unravelling for Thai pig farmer Jintana Jamjumrus two years ago, after dozens of her animals got feverish and died within days of a mysterious illness she suspected of being a viral disease with no known vaccine, African swine fever (ASF).

This month, officials identified the first case of ASF in Jintana’s province of Nakhon Pathom, after years of saying it was not in Thailand, unleashing a political firestorm as pork prices hit an all-time high near which they may stay for months.

Reuters Graphics

“There’s no way they didn’t know. Pigs died all over the country … Why the cover-up?” Jintana, 75, asked about the deaths…

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