Meat imports rise 33 percent in two months

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s meat imports in the first two months rose by a third on an annual basis to over 230,000 metric tons (MT), driven by higher purchases abroad of pork and chicken meat, government data showed.
Latest Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) data showed that meat imports from January to February reached 237,681 MT, over 33 percent higher than the 177,819 MT recorded in the same period last year.
Pork imports, which accounted for half of the total meat import volume, expanded by 48 percent year-on-year to 124,047 MT from 81,602 MT, based on BAI data.
The country’s purchases abroad of pork cuts reached nearly 44,000 MT while imports of pork bellies hit 20,302 MT. The country also imported almost 45,000 MT of pork offals and 9,479 MT of pork fats during the two-month period.
Industry traders and importers earlier noted that the country would remain reliant on foreign supplies to meet the country’s pork demand as domestic pork output is still insufficient.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has challenged hog industry players to produce an additional two million hogs every year until 2028 to revive the country’s pig population to pre-pandemic level of 14 million heads.
Tiu Laurel said the local pig repopulation target would “significantly” reduce the country’s pork imports.
“Filipinos still prefer the meat of freshly slaughtered hogs,” he said.
BAI data also showed that the country’s chicken meat imports increased by more than a fifth to 77,310 MT from 63,221 MT.
More than half of the imported chicken meat was mechanically deboned meat (MDM), which is a vital ingredient used by meat processors to manufacture items like hotdog and meat loaf.
Imports of chicken MDM hit 42,880 MT, about 40 percent higher than the 30,598 MT recorded volume last year, based on BAI data.
Purchases of chicken cuts abroad reached 11,866 MT while imports of chicken leg quarters hit 18,624 MT, based on BAI data.
Furthermore, the country’s beef imports rose by 35 percent year-on-year to 32,386 MT from 24,005 MT. BAI data showed that bulk of the imports were beef cuts that reached 21,150 MT.
The country’s top meat supplier during the January-February period was Brazil at 101,306 MT, followed by the US at 33,992 MT.
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