Pork Prices in Malaysia Spike as Local Farms Hit by African Swine Fever

Outbreak in Selangor has led to monthly loss of 30,000 market-ready pigs due to culling

- Lu Wei Hoong

TANJUNG SEPAT, Selangor - The sound of meat being chopped echoed through eight pork butcher stalls at Petaling Jaya's Old Town Pasar on May 17, belying a crisis the Malaysian stallholders are facing.

Local butchers are grappling with surging pork prices due to African swine fever (ASF), which affected farms in Tanjung Sepat, Selangor, one of the country's largest pig-producing hubs, at the start of 2025.

Mr Tong, 50, one of the butchers at the market in Selangor, said his customers have started reducing their pork belly purchases to cope with the higher prices.

"They would previously buy 1kg of pork belly. Now, it's maybe just one or two strips, around 600g," Mr Tong, who preferred to be called Zhu Yok Fatt (Pork Fatt), told The Straits Times on May 17.

Today, 1kg of fresh pork belly in Klang Valley costs RM40 (S$12), a surge of 33 per cent from RM30 in 2020. The current market price is at a two-year high, forcing some consumers to switch to more budget-friendly alternatives such as chicken and fish.

Office executive Hew Jin Hao, 31, said he has started substituting pork with chicken as a more wallet-friendly option, or occasionally seafood as a luxury treat, compared with two years ago.

"In 2022, a typical pork shoulder cost around RM18 per kg. Now, it's RM25. For just RM5 more, I can buy fish instead. Chicken is only about RM10 per kg, so I'd rather skip pork altogether," he told ST.

Pork supply in Malaysia was severely disrupted in the aftermath of the death of 300 sows during an ASF outbreak in January 2025, said Mr Lee, a Tanjung Sepat pig farmer.