THE country’s dressed-chicken inventory at the start of the year declined by nearly 30 percent to 16,989.06 metric tons (MT), from 24,238.49 MT recorded a year ago, according to the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS).
NMIS data showed chicken purchased abroad accounted for more than half of the inventory as of January 1 at 8,922.42 MT. The figure was 1.71 percent lower than the 9,077.53 MT imported a year ago.
The remaining volume consisted of locally produced chicken, according to NMIS data. The volume of locally produced chicken in cold storages fell by 46.79 percent to 8,066.63 MT, from last year’s 15,160.96 MT.
On a monthly basis, local-chicken inventory during the period was 42.9 percent lower than the 29,752.89 MT recorded last December 4.
The volume of dressed chicken in the market usually declines after the Christmas season, when cold storages are full to meet the increase in demand, according to industry sources.
The NMIS said it surveyed only accredited cold-storage facilities. Fresh-chilled chicken and mechanically deboned meat were not included in the NMIS data.
Data from the attached agency of the Department of Agriculture also showed the volume of frozen pork in cold storages as of January 1 expanded 10.73 percent to 24,443.76 MT, from 22,074.043 recorded in the same period last year.
Imports also accounted for the bulk of the frozen-pork inventory. According to the NMIS, pork from abroad reached 23,742.56 MT and accounted for 97.13 percent of
total inventory.
The volume of frozen-pork imports is 12.65 percent higher than the 21,076.18 MT recorded a year ago.
Local pork in cold storages declined by almost 30 percent to 701.20 MT, from 997.85 MT recorded on January 2.
On a monthly basis, local-pork inventory as of January 1 was 8.17 percent lower than the 26,618.89 MT recorded last December 4.
For the frozen-pork data, the NMIS said it included stock inventory in accredited commercial and in-house cold storage in slaughterhouses and meat-processing plants.
Image credits: Bloomberg