Mawlamyine, 26 September
Livestock farmers in Mon State have permanently abandoned their businesses since it has become difficult for them to operate in more than two and a half years following the coup.
Livestock industries have shut down due to a more than threefold increase in the price of imported animal feeds, medicine, and other inputs, a lack of demand, and the entry of illicit frozen meat from other nations.
A farmer stated, “In the past three months, nearly 70 percent of poultry farming and more than 50 percent of pig farming in the state have stopped operating because of the loss of business”.
He added that farmers are reducing the number of animals they raise amid high input costs and are not expanding their businesses.
A livestock farmer stated, “The daily arrival of frozen meat from abroad and the exorbitant increases in input prices have prompted us to abandon the business forever”.
According to the statements of livestock owners, some of those who gave up farming went to foreign countries to work, while others switched to other businesses.
With the absence of small-scale livestock farmers, many skilled livestock workers have become unemployed, said livestock farmers.
Chickens, pigs, ducks, and fish are the most common livestock in Mon State, with goats, cows, and quails being raised on a smaller scale.
During the military coup, the decreasing value of the Myanmar currency, the high prices of input, and the inability to compare livestock products imported from abroad led to a situation where farmers would have to abandon their businesses permanently.
News-Than Lwin Times
Photo-CJ