Blessing in disguise: Swine flu fear widens market for local pig farmers in Kerala

Palakkad: Pork served across the state for the last 1.5 years, was all produced locally. It should be noted that the practice of bringing hybrid pigs to Kerala from other states has stopped in the last 1.5 years.       

Adhering to the directions given by the union government, the Kerala animal husbandry department banned the transportation of pigs across the checkposts on the state borders when swine flu was reported in the northeastern states back in July 2022. The department kept on monitoring the situation every three months since then. However, the ban continued since swine flu was being reported in different parts of the country at different points in time. As per the latest order issued by the particular department, the ban is prevalent till April 2024.

Earlier, pigs for eating purposes were being brought into Kerala from states including Assam, Mizoram, and West Bengal.   

KM Ravi, who is both the public relations officer and assistant rinderpest officer at the animal husbandry department, states that before the ban “7,000-8,000 hybrid pigs used to arrive in Kerala via the borders.” The numbers were even higher before the pandemic. It is said that over 10,000 pigs were brought into Kerala from across the borders before 2018.

Two years ago, African swine flu was first reported in the state of Assam. In addition to this, swine flu was reported in Kerala in the districts of Wayanad and Kozhikode. This forced the authorities to ban the incoming of pigs to the state.

Meanwhile, during the pandemic, several pig farms sprung up across Kerala. A kilogram of pork is currently priced at around Rs 400 in the state. Earlier, it was somewhere around Rs 380. An estimated number of 1 lakh pigs are being reared in Kerala. 

The fear of swine flu has considerably affected pork sales. The fact that no effective cure has been so far developed for swine flu is proving a major setback for the pig-rearers.