Chicken meat imports seen rising in 2025

Overseas chicken purchases bound for the Philippines might increase next year amid anticipated supply constraints as local production is insufficient to meet the rising demand.

In a report, the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service pegged the country’s chicken meat imports at 480,000 metric tons (MT) in 2025, up by 2.1 percent from its estimated volume of 470,000 MT for this year.

“The country’s chicken meat imports are seen “to grow slightly … as demand continues to outpace domestic supply,” the USDA said.

According to the American agency, Malacañang’s Executive Order No. 62 is expected to facilitate trade and augment the supply of agricultural products including chicken meat, helping to meet the strong market demand over the medium-term.

Issued last June, the order retained the import duty on mechanically deboned chicken at 5 percent until 2028.

The country imported 255.38 million kilograms of chicken during the seven months ending in July, up by 2.4 percent, data from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) showed.

This was about 33.7 percent of the 757.3 million kg of imported meat that arrived during the same period.

Beef alternative

Jesus Cham, president emeritus of the Meat Importers and Traders Association, said imported pork and poultry products are still in brisk demand because local production is not enough.

“The increase in [demand for] beef likely show that consumers are discovering that given the high price of pork and poultry, beef is offering better value for money,” Cham told the Inquirer.

Cham said that despite the rise in import volumes, the market experienced shortages of pork bellies and chicken leg quarters in August and September.