Sales of pork products have declined about one third as customers react to the H1N1 influenza outbreak.

SALES at shops that specialise in fried and boiled pork are down about one-third compared with early April, before the outbreak of the influenza virus H1N1, retailers told The Myanmar Times late last month. Daily pork production in Myanmar is also down, according to the Pig Farmers and Processors Association, which said pork prices have also dropped since first H1N1 cases were detected in Mexico in April.

“The number of swine sales in Myanmar has dropped about 40 percent [since the swine flu outbreak],” Pig Farmers and Processors Association chairman U Hlaing Myint Oo said last week. “[Because of this,] daily production has dropped from about 40,000 viss (64,000 kilograms – 1 viss is equal to 1.6kg) before the outbreak to about 30,000 viss (48,000kg) now. The farm price per viss has also decreased, down from K2600 a viss in April to K2300.”

“The farm price had already been dropping because of the global financial crisis,” he said, adding that this time last year the farm price was about K3200 a viss.

Sone See Yar pork shop, located near the Bartar bus stop in Hlaing township, has been selling both fried and boiled pork for the past 15 years. The owner says the shop normally sells about 15 viss (24 kilograms) a day but after the outbreak of the H1N1 virus in North America sales have dropped to about 10 viss (16kg) a day.

“Myanmar is not at all affected by the flu outbreak and so we have not made any changes to our products or cooking methods since then, we just make sure the meat is perfectly steamed as always,” the owner said, adding that wholesale prices have not changed in the past month.

Streetside vendors known as wet thar dote htoe, which sell pieces of pork chitterlings – small intestines – as well as tongue, liver and spleen for about K100, also reported lower sales since the outbreak.

The owner of Shwe Nagar, who has been selling pork pieces on Inya Bank in Kamaryut township since 2003, said daily sales had dropped from about 5 viss (8kg) before the outbreak to about 3 viss (less than 5kg).

“The decrease in sales is not only due to the outbreak but also because of the other economic challenges the county is facing. In 2003 sales were up at about 10 viss (16kg) a day and business was good,” said the owner of Shwe Nagar, adding that the retail price then was only K30 a piece.

The owner of Soe Pyay, a wet thar dote htoe shop in Seinn Lann Soe Pyay Gardens in Kamaryut township, said he had noticed only a slight drop in sales since the H1N1 outbreak.

“We usually sell about 10 viss (16kg) of pork a day but now we might have up to 50 ticals (800 grams) left over some days. Before the news of the swine flu outbreak, all our pork would be gone by about 6pm but now we are sometimes open till 8pm,” said the owner of Soe Pyay.