Thai consumers have been rocked by news that billions of baht in illegal pork has been smuggled into the country – and likely onto their dinner plates.

Thousands of shipping containers packed with smuggled pork have been discovered in warehouses and docks across the country in recent years. Authorities say the industrial-scale smuggling racket is hurting local pork farmers, reducing prices and raising the risk of disease.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin publicly admonished the director-general of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) over the issue in early November, ordering urgent efforts to “catch the big fish” behind pork smuggling.

DSI chief Suriya Singhakamol found himself transferred out of the job a couple of weeks later with no explanation.

Just a day before his surprise transfer, Suriya had led a search of Makro headquarters in Bangkok, after a DSI investigation found the wholesale supermarket group had purchased frozen pork from a shipping firm linked to a smuggling ring.

Suriya had also voiced suspicions that government officials were involved in the racket.

Shortage after ASF outbreak

The current wave of smuggling began in 2021 as a shortage of pork drove up the meat’s price. The shortage was caused by pig culls following a severe outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in Thailand.

The higher pork prices were an incentive for smugglers, who benefited from the big price difference between domestic and cheaper smuggled pork.

Experts say Thai pig raisers suffered from high feed and medication costs while their counterparts in the source countries enjoyed much lower production costs. Also, the smuggled pork did not have to pass food safety checks.

Since January 2021, at least 2,385 shipping containers of illegal pork weighing over 76,000 tons have been smuggled into Thailand, according to the DSI. About 42,000 tons were falsely declared as frozen seafood or polymer.

A large portion of the smuggled meat is believed to have been distributed to cold storage warehouses across the country before making its way to consumers.

The DSI is investigating at least 10 companies in connection with 161 containers of frozen pork impounded at Laem Chabang Port since September. Most of those companies are importers and distributors of frozen foods.

The DSI and Swine Raisers Association (SRAT) of Thailand report that up to 10,000 shipping containers of foreign pork were smuggled into Thailand over the past three years.

An estimated 50 billion baht in economic damage has been caused to the country, in addition to health risks for consumers.

Low-quality meat

SRAT vice president Wiwat Pongwiwatchai says the pork shipments came from many countries, including Brazil, Germany, Canada, China, and South Korea.

“Most of the smuggled pork was either near its expiry date or comprised parts that were unwanted in those countries, such as internal organs,” he said, adding that the illegal meat was often falsely declared as fish or seafood.

The association’s president, Surachai Sutthitham, said in August last year that much of the smuggled pork was supplied to Mu Kratha Thai-style barbeque restaurants.

He claimed that as much as 90% of the pork used for the popular buffet dish around Thailand was smuggled, judging from the “very low” price of 189 baht per customer.

Wiwat estimated this week that the smugglers made a net profit of at least 500,000 baht per shipping container of illegal pork (18-27 tons of meat per container) after paying “all the incidental expenses” – a euphemism for bribes.

Health risks for consumers

Much of the smuggled pork is believed to have come from ASF-infected animals, according to veterinarian Worawut Siripun, who also serves as deputy secretary-general of the SRAT.

A large proportion also arrived from countries that do not ban the use of leanness-enhancing agents, which can pose health risks for consumers.

“Chemical residues in smuggled pork are what’s most dangerous for consumers, particularly leanness-enhancing agents,” Worawut said.

Pig farmers use leanness-enhancing agents in feed primarily to promote muscle growth and breeding efficiency, so the pork is ready for sale earlier.

Consumption of meat containing leanness-enhancing agents can cause dizziness, nausea, and peripheral weakness.

It may also exacerbate health risks for patients with heart disease or high blood pressure. Consumption on a long-term basis may induce malignant tumors.

Worawut also pointed out that although the ASF virus cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans, smuggled pork stored at different warehouses across the country is a “time bomb” that could lead to repeated outbreaks of the disease in Thailand.

By Thai PBS World’s Political Desk