No pork, eat chicken to tackle inflation

In Thailand, pork costs about twice as much as chicken, said the prime minister on his "Samak-Style Talk Show'' on television earlier in March.

"If you have pork with basil and chicken with basil, most people will choose the chicken,'' he said. "So, if pork is now expensive, why don't you eat chicken for a while,'' he added.

Consumer prices in Thailand rose at the fastest pace in 20 months in February. China's inflation also accelerated to an 11-year high, with pork surging 63% from a year earlier, Bloomberg reports. Vietnam's inflation rate climbed to a 13-year high.

The worst snow storms in five decades at the start of the year may have killed 874,000 pigs, the government said in Feb. In 2007, China's proposal to increase pork imports sparked a "large international reaction", forcing the government to change plans, Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said.

Thais are taking the prospect of eating more chicken in stride. The benchmark index of consumer confidence reached an 11-month high in February, as the nation's first elected government since a September 2006 coup pledged to increase spending to boost economic growth.

The Thai's also banned pork exports last week until the price of pork stabilises.

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