Photo shows a pork section at Miri Central Market, which has been receiving fewer customers lately.
IT was a rather quiet morning as I headed to the Padang Kerbau Pork Market in Pujut Corner, located next to the Miri Bus Terminal near the city centre.
There were only two stalls operating at the time – the other four were unmanned.
On Anthony John’s butcher table, there were two pig’s heads, while Junilus Wesley had laid some fresh cuts of pork on his.
Both kept smiling to the very few customers passing by.
“I have some more in the freezer,” said Junilus cheerfully.
The stocky Kelabit, now in his late 40s, definitely had the muscles to lift large chunks of frozen carcasses out of one of his two freezers, which he actually did just to prove that he indeed had extra meat.
I could tell that he had been doing this job for many years just by looking at the way he was prepping my order – he sliced off a piece that later weighed exactly one kilogramme on the scale.
“We do not have much meat to sell, actually. If I could get two pigs from Kuching to sell on one single day, I would be very happy.
“On some days, there’s no supply at all. Still, I remain cheerful and helpful, because the customers don’t mind buying frozen pork from me,” he smiled.
Anthony waiting for customers at his stall.
Getting by
Junilus still looking cheerful, despite the struggles.
Nonetheless, Junilus admitted that the sales had not quite been encouraging throughout this Chinese New Year season.
“Our customers still prefer fresh cuts. That’s why now I prepare only a small batch in the morning because it’s not good to put the cuts back into the freezer. Still, some customers don’t mind buying the frozen pieces from me.
“Also, in the future, we will no longer have this kind of open-air market, as it will be replaced by one with better facilities like larger chillers and air-conditioning.
“Of course, all these will add to the overall cost, but I really cannot complain too much.”
The market serves a fairly large customer base – covering the namesake neighbourhood of Padang Kerbau, Pujut, Miri-Kuala Baram Bypass and Canada Hill, and as far as Piasau.
Besides pork, the market also has other sections where traders sell fruits and vegetables, local snack, jungle produce and also fish.
According to Junilus, many pork sellers also run other businesses.
“Selling pork is their side income. I know two butchers who have oil palm estates.
“They are doing their best to earn extra incomes to be able to put food on the table.”
ASF rearing its ugly head
Cuts of pork laid on Junilus’ butcher table.
According to Junilus, the Miri City Council-run abattoir at Krokop used to slaughter 250 pigs every day.
It was closed last year.
The African Swine Fever (ASF) epidemic, which reared its ugly head in Asia in 2018, had adversely impacted the local pig farmers.
Many butchers in Miri had to downsize their operations drastically.
Some pig farmer-butchers have stayed on running their stalls, and getting their supply from Kuching. They have also arranged for the supply of imported pork from some countries such as Brazil, Belgium and Denmark.
“I can say that almost all pig farmers of Miri would rather call it a day, than to continue to suffer,” said Dominic Renang, who runs a shop selling pork in Morsjaya near the city.
The Iban from Kanowit, who retired from the oil and gas industry many years ago, said he had always dreamed of becoming a big-time pig farmer even when he was still working offshore.
He actually did quite well after retirement, until last year when ASF struck his farm, forcing him to cull all his 500 pigs and eventually, he had to close everything down.
Dominic then contacted a pork supplier in Kuching and immediately, he sealed a deal for it to supply to his shop, Golden Green Fresh Mart.
Dominic points out the need for the government to enforce better control of prices for animal feed.
He considered himself lucky as he could still tag very competitive prices on his offerings. However, he did incurred losses – when asked how much, he was tight-lipped about it.
The ASF was first detected in Kenya in 1909. Later on, it spread from Africa to Europe and parts of the Americas, ravaging the pig herds in these regions throughout the 1960s to the 1980s.
It was contained after that – in Sardinia, Italy, it has remained an endemic since 1978.
In 2007, the virus was detected in Georgia, Russia and Eastern Europe, where domestic pigs and wild boar populations were widely affected. It is now endemic in regions of the Russian Federation.
Nonetheless, nowhere in the world had it spread faster and across such a wide area than in China, where the first outbreak in Asia was reported in Shenyang, north-eastern China, in August 2018.
The ASF virus is associated with ticks that infest the common warthog in sub-Saharan Africa.
The disease is usually deadly for pigs, as no treatment is available and despite efforts over the years, there is still no vaccine to overcome this complex virus.
ASF does not affect humans, and it is not a public health threat or a food safety concern.
However, an outbreak adversely affecting a large pig population could impose severe socio-economic consequences.
It is said that the virus was detected in Miri and some areas across Baram in 2021 and according to some reports, it had reduced the population of wild boars in Sarawak.
Moreover, many Penans and Orang Ulus had also been lamenting how there seemed to ‘fewer and fewer wild boars in the jungles’.
Feeling pessimistic
“The pork market today in Miri is really in trouble. Firstly, there’s no supply from Miri pig farmers; thus, we have to depend on Kuching.
“Secondly, frozen pork is not really well accepted by many consumers. I do feel that it will take time for them to adjust.
“And thirdly, prices are too high for the lower income group. It’s a pity that the government seems to not be going all out in understanding the situation, or providing the much-needed support,” Dominic lamented, also expressing his pessimism over the ability of pig farm operators in Miri to recover anytime soon.
He also said over the years, the pig farmers had never received any funding or compensation whenever tragedies struck.
“I can say we, the Sarawak pig farmers, have lost millions of ringgit.
“There has been no talk of compensation from the government.”
He added: “In this aspect, the government must help us find new and better sites to rear better pigs. Where the pig farms are sited is very important.
“The area must have treated water supply and if possible, there should be a running stream nearby to help dispose of the water used to flush the pig sties.
“Good roads must be available to facilitate the transportation of the pigs to the city.
“We also need good hardworking workers, and they need to be reasonably paid.”
Moreover, Dominic pointed out the need for the government to enforce better control of prices for animal feed.
“If one pig needs RM3 worth of feed per day, this would translate to a cost of RM540 in six months – per animal.
“This is beyond the reach of a small-scale pig farmer. Plus, there are a lot of other expenditures like veterinarian’s fees, vaccination, medications, workers’ salaries, etc.
“It’s costly to rear pigs until they are ready for slaughter.”
Slow recovery
Yii Kee Seng, who had been a butcher since he moved to Miri 30 years ago, felt like he ‘had been unemployed since July last year’.
“We’re allocated one pig a day, sometimes half a pig. We’re just earning too little.
“Moreover, I still need to pay my assistant,” said the Sibu-born Foochow, who is operating a pork stall at Miri Central Market.
“Many butchers in the markets across the city operate only three days a week,” he added.
“Many decided just to pack things up and find other jobs.”
Yii, now in his 60s, opens his stall from midnight to 6am – for the remainder of the day, he works as a delivery man and among the main items that he delivers is frozen pork.
“Now, I’m only earning half of what I used to get every day back in the days.”
Another Sibu-born man, KS Lau, said he used to run a pig farm in Bakam.
“As soon as ASF struck, I knew that I would incur losses, so I immediately slaughtered all my pigs.
“Today, instead of idling around, I’m happy to be serving customers ‘Mee Sua’ (thread noodles) with chicken soup and other Foochow dishes at my stall in this Gen 2 Gen coffee-shop near Miri Airport,” said the trader, now in his 50s.
Asked about the possibility for local pig farmers to recover, Lau said such recovery would take at least three years, provided that these farmers could get new land plots to start all over.
“It might take longer. Sad to say, the pig farmers have lost too much in the last three years,” he added.
Lau happily making the ‘Mee Sua’ orders at his stall. He no longer rears pigs.
After talking with many pork sellers, I later struck a conversation with a local consumer, Margaret Batang from Sungai Rait.
She acknowledged the significant hike in pork prices today, but she viewed the situation as ‘just the tip of the iceberg’.
“I think the government should consider doing a case study into the whole pork industry in Sarawak.
“We, the consumers, can eat less pork, as we can choose other kinds of meat.
“Still, it’d be really bad if we’re totally out of pork for Gawai, Christmas or other festivals,” she said.