For a year and a half, the oversupply of pork has led many producers to operate at lower prices than production costs, and they are considering destroying livestock that cannot be sold.
David Hyde (David Head), a pig farmer in Tintinar, South Australia, has lost his contract with a buyer for pig vaccine purchases.
He faces two terrible options, either selling the animals for less than the cost of production or destroying them.
"A lot of pig farmers can't sell their pigs this week, so they have to keep them and find a way to get rid of them," Hyde said.
"I haven't heard of anyone euthanizing pigs, but if things don't get better, it's likely to happen."
In fact, the problem is that the growth rate of the whole Australian pig herd has outpaced demand.
Farmers across Australia lose an average of 50 yuan per pig.
Andrew Spencer (Andrew Spencer) of (APL), an Australian pork company, said it was appropriate to use a "crisis" to describe the current situation in the industry.
"I think this is an appropriate summary," he said. "some practitioners in our industry are really in serious trouble right now."
"We have some producers whose pigs can only be sold at a low price, and some producers can't sell their pigs at all because they can't find a market and they have no way to go."
Emma Baxter (Emma Baxter), a pig farmer in the new state of Forbes, said her family would consider leaving pig farming if things didn't get better soon.
"We have been counting on raising pigs all our lives. We want our children to inherit, but unfortunately, if there is no profit, we may have to consider something else, "Baxter said."
She said the problem was exacerbated by strong industry demand for feed and drought in some states.
"We lose an average of 10,000 yuan a month. This is last quarter's data, and this one will be a little more because grain prices have gone up, "she said."
Demand for Australian pork is rising, but not enough to ease pressure on producers.
Pig HuHyde believes that imported pork made of cooked meat is a cause of the problem.
"there may be an oversupply, but let's slow down our imports so we don't face oversupply. That's what we need, "he said."
The Federal Department of Agriculture said pork imports should not be blamed, citing data from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural Resources and Economic Sciences (ABARES).
Pork imports fell 13% last year and are expected to continue to decline this year (2%). The growth in Australia's pork industry is driving farm buying prices down-the expansion of the pig herd means lower prices, "a spokesman said.
APL acknowledges that the industry does also bear some responsibility for falling prices.