PH dairy imports seen rising 14% in 2024

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The volume of the country’s dairy imports is expected to climb by around 14 percent this year, driven by higher consumer spending and demand for food services.

In a report, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said the Philippines was expected to purchase 2.65 million tons (in milk equivalent) in 2024, up from the 2023 estimate of 2.32 million tons.

This contributed to the slight increase in global trade of the product, which was pegged at 84.93 million tons in 2024, a slight uptick of 0.4 percent from last year’s 84.62 million tons.

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The FAO attributed its “relatively stable” global dairy trade outlook to the “improved consumer demand and increased food service sales in some countries induced by the post-COVID-19 recovery of tourism.”

Based on the report, “the increasing spending on food consumed out of home and the overall increased demand from the hotel, restaurant, and institutional (HRI) sector, notably in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Algeria, Mexico, and the United States of America,” boosted global sales.

The FAO also said that the global trade of skim milk powder is seen to dip by 1.8 percent to nearly 2.6 million tons this year.

“Despite imports likely growing in several countries, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Algeria, Egypt, Malaysia, and Vietnam, their aggregate increase is unlikely to fully compensate for the declines expected in China, Mexico, and the Russian Federation, which in total account for about one-quarter of global trade,” the FAO said. INQ