Appetite for pork drove 16.4% rise in PH meat imports in ’22

The volume of meat brought into the country last year climbed by 16.4 percent, driven mainly by the appetite for pork, according to data from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).

The BAI data showed that meat imports totaled 1.35 billion kilograms as of end-December 2022, higher than the 1.16 billion recorded in 2021.

Pork remained the major driver of meat imports, accounting for more than half or 52.4 percent of the total volume.

The country imported 28.1 percent more pork last year to reach 710.362 million kg of pork—mostly pork cuts and offal.

Chicken clinched the second spot with 411.07 million kg, equivalent to about 30 percent of total imports.

Chicken imports last year were 1.6 percent higher than the previous year, with deboned chicken and chicken leg quarters among the most purchased chicken products.

The Philippines also brought in 186.152 million kg of beef, with beef cuts accounting for more than half of the volume.

Also imported were 47.655 million kg of buffalo and 773,141 kg of duck during the comparative period. Brazil was the country’s primary source of meat imports with Spain and the United States coming in second and third.

The volume of imported meat is expected to further grow this year with the signing of President Marcos of Executive Order No. 10 extending the validity of lower tariff rates on certain imported commodities such as rice and meat until December 2023.

The government said there was a need to extend the lower tariff rates on maize (corn), coal and meat of swine (fresh, chilled or frozen) “to maintain affordable prices” to ensure food security, help augment the local supply, reduce the cost of electricity and diversify the market sources.

The order read, “the current global economic situation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other factors affecting the country’s traditional sources of rice, corn, coal and fresh, chilled or frozen meat of swine, cause uncertainty in the steady supply of said commodities.”