The country’s dairy imports from January to September of last year grew by 7.67 percent to 2.329 million metric tons-liquid milk equivalent (MMT-LME) from 2.163 MMT-LME recorded in the same period of 2020, latest government data showed.
National Dairy Authority (NDA) data released recently showed that the value of dairy imports during the reference period rose by 9.42 percent year-on-year to P44.129 billion from P40.330 billion.
The country’s imports of milk and cream products grew by 5.13 percent to 1.941 MMT-LME from 1.847 MMT-LME while imports of butter, butterfat and dairy spreads rose by 15.61 percent year-on-year to 220,170 MT-LME.
Cheese imports by the Philippines expanded by 47.34 percent to 132,330 MT-LME during the reference period from 89,810 MT-LME. Meanwhile, imports of curd declined by 3 percent to 34,600 MT-LME from 35,670 MT-LME.
In terms of value, imports of milk and cream products grew by 7.95 percent year-on-year to $657.19 million from $608.77 million while imports of butter, butterfat & dairy spreads grew by 17.64 percent to $128.48 million.
Likewise, the value of cheese imports rose by 49.04 percent year-on-year to $87.43 million while value of curd imports increased by 4.93 percent to $30.08 million, based on NDA data.
NDA data showed that the United States was the country’s top source of imported milk and milk products during the nine-month period as it accounted for 33.99 percent of the total volume imported.
The Philippines imported 791,720 MT-LME of dairy products from the United States, which was valued at $253.36 million.
New Zealand was the second-biggest supplier of dairy products to the Philippines at 509,110 MT-LME worth $277.61 million, based on NDA data.
The United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS) in Manila projected last year that the country’s total dairy imports for 2021 may decline by 1 percent to 2.9 MMT-LME due to lower domestic demand caused by various Covid-19 related quarantines and movement restrictions. The USDA-FAS in Manila noted that the Philippines’s dairy imports in 2020 reached 2.936 MMT-LME.
“Post sees total dairy imports in 2021 declining by 1 percent to 2.9 MMT-LME due to the slowdown in demand following the various quarantines and movement restrictions,” the USDA-FAS Manila said in its Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain) report published in October.
“Post forecasts overall dairy imports to slightly recover in 2022, growing 2 percent as the economy reopens, most of the population becomes vaccinated, and Covid-19 restrictions are lifted,” it added.
In a statement last week, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said he has instructed government agencies involved in dairy production to “ramp up” domestic milk output to meet the country’s requirement for the commodity.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Dar directed the NDA and the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) to “re-tool local production strategies and actively partner with the private sector.”
“There is a huge potential in the sector but the challenge continues at all levels. But just because the challenge is there, we cannot be complacent and fail to persevere,” Dar said.
“We need to elevate our game and aim higher in such a way that the NDA and the PCC are able to strategize towards increasing competitiveness, boosting our local milk production and relying less on imports,” he added.
The Philippines is virtually importing all of its milk supply as domestic output could only meet total local requirements.