010322 Thailand'a Meat Crises Boosts Crocodile

Bangkok - Mad cow and foot and mouth disease in Europe have given Thai crocodile farmers a boost, with demand for crocodile meat growing there. Kamthorn Temsiripong, marketing manager of the Sriracha crocodile farm, said his firm would export its first ton of crocodile meat to Germany later this month.

“Europeans are wary of pork and beef because of mad cow and foot and mouth disease, so they are looking for alternative meat to eat,” said Kamthorn, whose farm is about 100 km east of Bangkok.

“Luckily, major meat importers from Germany and the Netherlands are coming to us to supply their European customers with Thai crocodile meat.”

Sriracha farm, which already exports to China and Taiwan, produced about five tonnes of crocodile meat a month, while monthly demand from Germany alone had reached 15 tonnes, Kamthorn said.

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