Meat imports up 12.6% as of September

THE Philippines’ meat imports from January to September totaled 1.039 million metric tons (MT), 12.6 percent higher than the 923,160 MT in the same period last year, according to data from the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry (DA-BAI).

Pork accounted for 517,86 MT or 49.7 percent of total meat imports during the period. The volume was also more than the 458,703 MT in 2023.

Imported chicken followed with 345,860 MT, up 6.4 percent from the comparable period’s 324,977 MT. Chicken comprised 33.2 percent of total meat shipments.

Meanwhile, imported beef posted the largest increase during the period at 144,023 MT, up by 35 percent from 106,676 MT in the previous year.

The Philippines shipped 30,375 MT of buffalo meat during the same period, or.05 percent lower than the 31,660 MT a year earlier. Imported lamb shipments, likewise, were lower by 11.9 percent at 566.3 MT compared to 642.88 MT in 2023.

Also down by 40 percent were duck meat imports at 139.96 MT compared to 229.3 MT in the previous year.

Brazil supplied the most meat during the period at 355,955 MT, or 34.2 percent of the country’s total meat imports.

Second was the United States at 154,965 MT, and third was Spain at 130,624 MT.

Fourth was Canada at 92,888 MT; fifth was Australia at 57,042 MT; and sixth was the Netherlands at 52,324 MT.

Even so, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Services (FAS) projected pork production in the Philippines would increase to 1.04 million MT in 2024 compared to 2023’s forecast of 950,000 MT due to repopulation efforts of the pig commercial sector.

The agency also hiked the country’s 2024 beef production forecast to 183,000 MT compared to 2023’s 182,000 MT.

Executive Order 62 is likewise expected to augment the local supply of agricultural commodities such as chicken to help meet the strong market demand over the medium term, the FAS noted.In 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported the country produced over 5 million MT of livestock, poultry and other animal products. The DA said this is a sign of recovery from the impact of Covid-19 and animal diseases.

Also cited was the lifting of temporary bans on imported domestic and wild birds, their by-products, and livestock from other countries due to bird flu and African swine fever.

The DA added it aims to boost domestic production of livestock and poultry by five times in five years to minimize imports.