Meat imports likely to hit fresh record-high

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s meat imports from January to November last year reached over 1.3 million metric tons (MT), surpassing the full-year volume recorded in 2023 and is even on track to hit a new record high.

The country imported a total of 1.33 million MT during the 11-month period, about 19 percent higher than the 1.12 million MT recorded volume during the same period of 2023, based on Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) data.

The volume already surpassed the 1.2 million MT imported meat products for the entire 2023 by 10.8 percent, BAI data showed.

At its current pace of increase, the total volume of meat imports last year is on pace to reach a new record high as it is just 30,000 MT away from eclipsing the record-high 1.36 million MT recorded in 2022.

Meat imports from January to November last year have been averaging about 121,000 MT a month, based on the BAI data.

Industry players have attributed the increase in meat imports last year to the need to augment domestic stocks to prevent a spike in retail prices of certain meat items, particularly pork.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said that pork imports mitigated the possible rise in retail prices due to the decimation of domestic hog inventory from continued devastation and threats of African swine fever.

The top five sources of meat imports during the 11-month period were Brazil (482,457 MT), the United States (204,204 MT), Spain (160,219 MT), Canada (111,721 MT) and Australia (70,400 MT).

Pork accounted for half or about 671,561 MT of the total meat import volume from January to November last year. It was followed by chicken meat at 435,501 MT, beef (187,711 MT), buffalo meat (35,219 MT), turkey (1,272 MT), lamb (613 MT) and duck (208 MT), based on BAI data.

Of the seven meat items, four products (pork, chicken meat, beef and turkey) posted an increase on annual basis while the other three items (duck, lamb and buffalo meat) declined on a year-on-year basis.

Pork imports rose by a 22 percent on annual basis while chicken meat imports posted grew by 10 percent year-on-year, BAI data showed. Beef imports, meanwhile, expanded by 40 percent while turkey meat purchases abroad doubled versus their volumes in 2023.

BAI data also showed that buffalo meat imports dipped by 1.25 percent on annual basis while duck and lamb imports declined by 26 percent and 13 percent, respectively.