PHILIPPINE meat imports in 2018 rose by over a fifth to a record high of nearly 850,000 metric tons (MT) as requirements from processors for raw materials expanded, coupled with a growing demand by Filipinos for protein products.
Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) data showed that meat imports last year rose by 22.73 percent from 2017’s 691,462.564 MT.
Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita) President Jesus C. Cham said the increase in overall imports reflect the demand of Filipinos for cheaper meat alternatives.
“I think the data will show that when local prices are expensive then the producers and consumers look for alternatives,” Cham told the BusinessMirror.
“If you look at the historical data, when local prices are high, the volume of imports is also high,” Cham added.
The increase in imports also indicate the expansion of local restaurants that serve meat products. He noted as examples the popular Baliwag Lechon Manok and Andok’s, as well as the booming business of unlimited samgyupsal, Cham said.
“Beef imports grew because there are now more burger companies locally and more fast-food services are into beef products,” he said.
“Beef used to be only used by beef pares businesses. Now the market has grown and you now have more beef in menu such as sliced beef, sukiyaki and beef cubes,” he added.
The Mita chief also noted the continuous expansion of the
local meat processors,
the majority of which source their raw materials, such as mechanically deboned
meat (MDM), from abroad. This further swelled the record-high imports last
year.
Meanwhile, the temporary lifting of the special safeguard duty (SSG) on chicken imports for some time also led to the entry of more poultry meat.
BAI data obtained by the BusinessMirror showed that 46.20 percent or about 392,129.183 MT of the total meat imports last year were pork.
Germany remained the top pork exporter to the Philippines last year as it accounted for 20.64 percent of total imports last year.
The Philippines imported 80,934.378 MT of pork from Germany, which was 4.5 percent over the 77,452.402 MT it purchased from the European nation in 2017.
Chicken meat was the second most bought product by the Philippines abroad.
Total chicken meat imports in 2018 grew by 18.06 percent to 288,202.817 MT, from 244,104.419 MT in 2017, BAI data showed.
BAI data also showed that about two-thirds of the country’s total chicken imports are MDM, one of the primary raw materials used by processors to manufacture hot dogs and chicken nuggets.
Chicken MDM imports last year grew by 2 percent to 192,944.065 MT, from 189,027.071 MT in 2017.
The country’s beef imports in 2018 rose by 17.47 percent to 120,901.156 MT from 102,920.016 MT in 2017.
Image credits: Bloomberg