THE country’s meat imports from January to September rose by 5 percent to 644,156.689 metric tons (MT) as traders and processors bought more chicken meat and beef products, Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) data showed.
Latest BAI data showed meat imports in the nine-month period at 31,054.143 MT higher than the 613,102.546 MT recorded in the same period of last year.
BAI data indicated that overall meat imports grew on the back of double-digit growth rates in chicken meat and beef imports that offset the 34-percent decline in pork purchased from abroad.
Chicken meat imports during the reference period expanded by 32 percent to 302,741.099 MT from last year’s 229,188.304 MT, based on BAI data.
BAI data showed that bulk of the chicken meat imports or about 69 percent were mechanically deboned meat (MDM), a raw material used by meat processors to produce products like hot dogs and siomai.
BAI showed that chicken MDM imports rose by almost 35 percent to 208,208.645 MT from last year’s 154,494.081 MT.
BAI data also showed that imports of chicken cuts rose by 80 percent to 31,784.818 MT while purchase of chicken leg quarters from abroad grew by 10 percent to 54,503.404 MT.
Beef imports expanded by 44 percent to 146,999.049 MT from 101,961.050 MT recorded in the same period of last year, BAI data also showed.
Bulk of the beef imports were combined cuts and choice cuts which accounted for two-thirds of the total volume or about 110,142.773 MT, based on BAI data.
BAI data showed that the country’s pork imports declined by 34 percent to 168,140.707 MT from 254,889.810 MT as tight global supply pushed higher the international prices of the meat product.
port source of the Philippines, accounting for 17.5 percent of the total volume in the nine-month period or about 112,514.002 MT, based on BAI data.
Bulk of the meat imports from the Netherlands or about 93,733,934 MT were chicken meat products, mostly MDM, based on BAI data.
The European country was followed by Brazil at 107,450.458 MT, with more than half of imports being chicken meat products, mostly MDM, the BAI data showed.
The country’s nine-month meat imports from the United States reached 103,154.276 MT, with more than half being chicken meat products, especially chicken leg quarters, per government data.