They also demanded that pork be delisted as a price-controlled commodity.

Swine Raisers Association of Thailand chairman Surachai Sitthitham and farmers leaders held talks with government representatives from the Ministry of Commerce and the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry after protesting at Government House this week as they were being affected both by higher production costs and the reduced purchasing power of consumers.

The average production cost for a standard-size pig is now on average Bt4,542 but farmers can only realise Bt3,800 when selling it, claimed Mr. Surachai, who said that farmers can't get thier investment back at current controlled prices.

The farmers called on the government to set up a Bt200 million fund to buy 45,000 swine at Bt4,500 each for slaughtering and to be held in cold storage.

The government will ask the finance ministry to find funding for the requested project. Farmers also demanded that the government cut the tariff on imported swine feedstuff such as soybean and corn from four per cent to zero.

They suggest that Thailand import pig feed from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and trade live hogs as well as pork with the neighbouring countries.