January 10, 2023

 

Meat imports into the Philippines 16% higher in 2022

The Philippines' Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) said the country imported 16.4% more meat and meat products in 2022, with increased pork shipments last year, Philippine Star reported.

 

BAI data showed the Philippines imported 1.36 billion kg of meat and meat products in 2022 as opposed to 1.17 billion kilos in 2021.

 

52%, or 710.36 million kg of the total amount of meat was pork. The amount shipped in 2022 increased by 28.06% over the 554.7 million kg shipped in 2021.

 

The amount of imports surpassed data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which predicted that the Philippines' pork imports would reach 550,000 metric tonnes (MT), or 550 million kg in 2022.

 

The Executive Order (EO) 171's extended reduced tariffs on pork imports were the primary reason for the increased imports.

 

The largest import was pork cuts at 314.77 million kg, followed by offals, or internal organs, at 217.55 million kg.

 

Pork imports to the Philippines come from Spain (222,08 million kg), Canada (127,31 million kg), and Brazil (79.11 million kg).

 

Chicken was second most popular imported meat last year, accounting for 30.3% of total shipments.

 

According to BAI data, chicken imports increased by 1.57% to 411.07 million kg from 404.71 million kg during the same period in 2021.

 

Imports of chicken fell short of the USDA's forecast of 435 million kg, or 435,000 metric tonnes, for last year.

 

The most amount of chicken meat imported was deboned chicken meat at 243.22 million kg, followed by chicken leg quarters at 102.69 million kg.

 

Chicken imports to the Philippines come from Brazil (235.26 million kg), the US (122.93 million kg), and Australia (12.84 million kg).

 

Additionally, BAI data also showed beef imports made up 13.72% of the total shipments into the Philippines.

 

Beef shipments increased from 158.71 million kg to 186.15 million kg, a 17.29% increase.

 

The Philippines also imported turkey (773,141 kg), duck (48,518 kg), and lamb (510,775 kg) last year.

 

-      Philippine Star