Food retail sector growth may ease this year

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s food retail sector is expected to grow at a slower pace of five percent this year as more Filipinos choose to spend less as they cope with higher food prices, according to the US Department of Agriculture – Foreign Agricultural Service.

The USDA-FAS Manila said the country’s total food and beverage retail sales are expected to reach $119 billion this year, about 5.3 percent higher than last year’s $113 billion.

However, the estimated 5.3 percent growth rate for this year is slower than the 9.7-percent expansion in 2023.

“FAS Manila expects slower retail sales growth at five percent due to thriftier spending and less home cooking,” the agency said.

Nonetheless, the agency pointed out that the expansion of modern retail stores to key cities and provinces as well as their product diversification to provide novel options to consumers would provide support for the sustained growth of the food service sector.

“Stores offer more imported food and beverage products to provide variety to consumers in the growing middle-income class and upper-income classes, who remain unaffected by inflation,” the report said.

“While still-elevated inflation remains, the increase in overseas workers and higher employment rates at home result in more income to cover necessities, including food and beverages,” it added.

The report also noted that the country’s food inflation is expected to moderate in the remaining months of the year as lower tariffs on rice, pork, corn and other imported commodities take effect, easing the burden being experienced by consumers.

“With local supply challenges, such as lower agricultural production yields, African swine fever and recent typhoons, opportunities for imported products have increased,” the USDA-FAS Manila said.

The report said the Philippines remains as the largest market for US consumer-oriented products in Southeast Asia, providing American exporters the “strong” opportunity to ship various products such as chicken, pork, beef cuts, frozen fries, soups, chocolates, cookies and biscuits, among others.

The Philippines ranked as the ninth-largest market for US agricultural and related products in 2023, reaching $3.6 billion, according to USDA-FAS Manila.

The US remains the largest single country exporter of agricultural products to the Philippines, it said.