The elderly are the market drivers

The dog segment of Thailand's pet industry continues to enjoy good prospects thanks to changing demographics, the growing importance placed on animals as companions, and social restrictions brought about by the pandemic. Industry stakeholders in Southeast Asia's second largest economy anticipate both a rise in dog ownership and an expansion of the market that caters to the species. Dogs currently dominate the country's pet population, accounting for 45 to 62 per cent of all owned animals. Industry estimates place the number of pet dogs at between 8.1 mio and 8.9 mio.
Thailand, a country of 70 million people, is the region's most valuable pet market - and Asia's second largest after China. At a recent virtual conference, Varittha Siwawej, business development manager of Thonglor Pet Hospital, said the country's overall pet trade has been growing by 10.8 per cent annually and was valued at 1.4 bn dollars in 2020. Thonglor, the country's largest network of private hospitals for animals, also runs a chain of pet stores.
In a study it conducted on the Thai pet food market, trade promotion agency Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT) projected that the number of dogs and cats kept as pets in Thailand would grow by 10 per cent annually.
Among the drivers for this are the elderly, who look to pets for companionship, industry players note. The Bangkok Post newspaper has reported that Thailand is set to be classified as an aged society this year, when 20 per cent of its population will have reached the age of 60 and over - double the 10 per cent requirement for the ageing category, which it had belonged to since 2005. The report adds that by 2031, the elderly will account for 28 per cent of the population, making the country a super-aged society. Pet humanisation, along with the rise of single-person households and dual income families that prefer to not have children, has also spurred puppy love in Thailand.

Industry experts observe that as dogs- particularly small ones - are increasingly seen as objects of affection, they have also become an alternative to children. "Small and toy [dogs] are ... treated as child family members," Mongkol Maenmalai, director of the Petfood Industry Association (PIA) of Thailand, confirmed to PET worldwide. He noted that four of the eight most sought-after breeds in the country - poodles, chihuahuas, beagles, pugs, Pomeranians, golden retrievers, Siberian huskies and Labrador retrievers - fit into the small to…