September 21, 2006

Philippine beef production and consumption face continued decline

Beef production in the Philippines is expected to decline in 2006 due to the continued decline in birth rates and lower demand, the USDA said.

The increase in prices of imported cattle is also expected to limit the growth of the domestic cattle industry in the near future.

Almost half the Philippines' cattle industry is made up of water buffalo while the other half is made up of beef cattle. 

Despite an increase in the birth rate of water buffalos, the very low live birth rate in beef cattle dragged beef production down in 2005, according to the Philippines Bureau of Agricultural Statistics.

Per capita beef consumption is only 3.43 kg in 2005 after falling 10 percent from 2004.  The decrease was attributed to weak purchasing power in the Philippines. With higher beef prices, Philippine beef consumption is expected to decline even further in 2006.

Imports account for around 40 percent of total Philippine beef consumption.

Even though domestic beef production fell, beef imports in 2005 fell as well. Imports were 16 percent lower than last year due to weak demand for beef and beef products.

Almost all beef imports were boneless beef used for processing. According to the USDA, the decline was due to a shift by the meat processing industry from beef to lower priced poultry meat.