Pork and Poultry Production in SE Asia

Submitted by: Orissa International Pte. Ltd.

Rising incomes, growing population and urbanization are some of the key factors driving the growth of livestock production and consumption, particularly of pork and poultry, in Southeast Asia. However, each market is different in terms of the key livestock it produces; for example, markets like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia produce more poultry than pork, while Vietnam and the Philippines produce more pork than poultry. 

Poultry Production

2020 poultry production and consumption of key SE Asia economies:
 

• Malaysia’s poultry industry is the most successful of its livestock segment and has the highest output value. The country is largely self-sufficient when it comes to poultry meat, and its annual per capita consumption is nearly 50 kilograms. Through farm consolidation, the number of poultry farms in the country is gradually decreasing, but its production capacity is increasing.
• Thailand is the world’s fourth-largest poultry exporter, with around 80% of the poultry produced by vertically integrated farms. The country has been able to avoid outbreaks of serious animal diseases by improving its farming facilities and adopting biosecurity measures. Animal welfare and humane husbandry are at the center of farming models of the local poultry producers. Technologies such as cage-free farming and real-time animal health monitoring systems are now being introduced in the country.
• Indonesia is a key producer of poultry in the region and is also largely self-sufficient in the supply of poultry meat. It is estimated that around 60% of the country’s poultry production comes from industrialized farms that use closed housing systems, while 40% remains in the hands of small and medium players that use the open housing system. The Ministry of Agriculture estimates the 2021 broiler population to reach 3.4 billion heads, translating into a meat production figure forecast to reach 3.97 MMT.
• While backyard poultry production is still the most common production system in Vietnam, the country is slowly gearing away from small-scale farming into industrial farming with the help of foreign investors that have established joint ventures with local companies. The Vietnamese government has announced plans to tap export markets for its poultry products and, in line with this goal, large-scale poultry farms utilizing modern farming technology and equipment are being set up.
• In the Philippines, backyard farms account for around 20% of poultry production, while 80% comes from commercial farms equipped with varying degrees of automation and technologies, which are usually imported. The country is also generally self-sufficient when it comes to poultry meat. 

• Over 90% of Thailand’s pig farms are smallholdings with less than 50 pigs, while the remaining are medium to large-scale farms with pigs higher than 5,000 head. Pigs raised in medium to large scale farms account for more than half of the total pig population in the country. At present, pork production is primarily targeted for domestic consumption, although it was reported that Thailand’s exports of live pigs increased by 339% in terms of value in 2020, as it is one of the few countries that has not reported any outbreaks of the African Swine Fever (ASF). 
• Vietnam is a major pork-consuming nation – it is the second-largest producer and consumer of pork in Asia after China. Small farms and semi-industrial farms account for around 80% of pig production in the country. Vietnam also has industrial swine operations, where investments in large-scale, high-technology and vertically integrated swine farming operations have driven swine herd expansion. The ASF outbreak caused a loss of 86,000 pigs in Vietnam in 2020; however, the country is on the path to recovery as ASF is more controlled. 
• The Philippine pig industry is the largest among its livestock sector and comes after Vietnam in terms of production in the region. The country is the world’s tenth-largest consumer, eighth-top producer, and seventh-largest importer of pork. About 64% of the country’s pig population is raised in small backyard farms, while commercial farms account for the rest. The Philippines’ pork production has also been severely affected by ASF. At present, local producers are cautious about repopulating their herd due to fear of further disease outbreaks. 
• As predominantly Muslim countries, pork production and consumption in Malaysia and Indonesia remain minimal compared to the other markets. 

Return To All Stories