THE Philippines imported a record volume of 1.356 billion kilograms of meat products last year as the government resorted to foreign supplies to temper price increases of the commodity amid domestic production and supply concerns.
Latest Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) data showed that total meat imports in 2022 was 191 million kilograms higher than the 1.165 billion kilograms recorded in 2021.
BAI data indicated that the increase in overall meat imports was driven by the 28.06-percent growth in pork imports last year that reached 710.362 million kilograms.
Nearly 400 million kilograms of the total pork imports were bellies and cuts, which enjoyed reduced tariffs implemented by the national government, based on BAI data.
Industry stakeholders and experts had earlier explained that the government’s decision to reduce tariffs on pork products would lead to higher import volume as domestic hog production is just starting its recovery phase from African swine fever (ASF).
The government, since the Duterte administration, has slashed pork tariffs to as low as 15 percent to encourage more foreign supplies and thus temper local retail prices of the commodity, that saw hitting as high as P500 per kilogram.
The Marcos Jr. administration has extended the duration of the lower pork tariffs until the end of the year, with local meat importers lobbying for such a measure to be prolonged until 2025.
The country’s chicken meat imports last year slightly increased by 1.57 percent to 411.069 million kilograms from 404.711 million kilograms in 2021, BAI data showed.
BAI data showed that mechanically deboned meat (MDM) accounted for more than half of the total chicken meat imports last year. The country’s imports of chicken MDM, a vital raw ingredient used by meat processors to manufacture processed goods like hotdogs, rose by 2.74 percent year-on-year to 243.219 million kilograms.
The Philippines imported 102.686 million kilograms of chicken leg quarters last year and 51.717 million kilograms of chicken cuts.
BAI data showed that Brazil was the country’s top meat supplier as it accounted for 28 percent of the total meat import volume last year.
Brazil exported 384.095 million kilograms of meat products to the Philippines, bulk of which were chicken meat. Brazil was the country’s top supplier of chicken meat products at 235.256 million kilograms followed by the United States at 122.931 million kilograms.
Brazil was also the Philippines’s top supplier of pork products at 79.109 million kilograms, slightly edging out the Netherlands at 79.001 million kilograms, BAI data showed.
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