A crocodile farm in Si Racha is encouraging consumers to eat crocodile meat instead of pork and chicken as prices for the latter meats continue to rise, while crocodile meat has high protien with less cholesterol and remains affordable, according to farmers.

Si Racha-

First, as a reference, the current situation in Chonburi with rising prices of pork especially:

Pork prices in Chonburi have been increasing, like most of Thailand, and according to officials from relevant agencies it is primarily due to a pig's disease, 'African swine fever, or ASF'. 

Chonburi pork prices continue to increase, customers and vendors complain, officials taking action

Pork, chicken, and egg prices in Pattaya and Chonburi have been increasing, like most of Thailand, and have affected both sellers and buyers.

Rising prices of pork, chicken, and eggs continue to cause concerns in Pattaya and Chonburi

Now, for our featured story:

Mr. Sumet Panyasakorn, the managing director of the Si Racha Crocodile Farm and Products company, told local Chonburi media earlier this week, "We produce 1,000 kilograms of crocodile meat that we bring to local markets per day. It is now not enough for rising demand as local consumers are starting to choose to eat more crocodile meat instead of pork and chicken meat. This is primarily due to concerns of rising prices of other types of meat, especially pork, in Thailand."

"We will not increase crocodile meat prices and want to reassure our customers of this. We currently sell crocodile for 85 Baht per kilogram for wholesale purchases of more than 30 kilograms and 120 Baht per kilogram for retail/individual purchases." Sumet explained.

"Before the pork and chicken price increase, we sold only 30 percent of our crocodile meat in Thailand while 70 percent of our supply was exported to other countries. Now, we are selling 50 percent of our stock in the country and this number continues to increase." Sumet added.

"Crocodile meat has high protein and less cholesterol. It is good for one's health and the price is not high. We strongly suggest people try it if they never have before and see that it can be a great cost-affordable replacement for pork while prices in this category remain high." Sumet concluded.

Crocodile meat has had a lot of discussion on our Thai social media recently, notes TPN media, with many Thai residents agreeing with Sumet's thoughts. However, many English-language readers online, many who admitted they had never tried crocodiles, remained apprehensive.