Meat imports nearing record high volume

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s meat imports are on pace to reach a new record high as imports through September have breached one million metric tons (MT), driven by higher purchases of pork and chicken products.

Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) data showed that meat imports from January to September reached 1.039 million MT, about 12.64 percent higher than the 923,160.367 MT recorded in the same period last year.

The nine-month volume is just 165,000 MT away from matching the full-year meat import volume in 2023 of 1.204 million MT.

Meat imports have averaged about 115,545.032 MT from January to September, with shipments accelerating in the second half of the year.

In the third quarter alone, meat imports rose by nearly 18 percent to 392,160.271 MT, averaging at 130,720.09 MT, based on BAI data.

The country’s meat imports through September are just 317,000 MT away from matching the record-high 1.356 million MT recorded volume in 2022.

Pork imports during the nine-month period rose by almost 13 percent to 517,860.193 MT from 458,703.533 MT as the country relied on foreign supplies to augment domestic stocks and stabilize prices of the meat item.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. earlier said pork prices would remain stable in the remaining months of the year because of the continuous entry of pork imports as reflected in the country’s current frozen pork inventory figures.

Should pork prices increase, it would only be minimal, Tiu Laurel said, attributing it to the higher than usual demand driven by the holiday season.

The agriculture chief explained that the increase in imports somehow mitigates the possible rise in pork prices due to the decimation of domestic hog inventory from continued devastation and threats of African swine fever.

The country’s imports of pork bellies (liempo) and pork cuts each grew by a double-digit rate. Purchases of pork bellies abroad rose by almost a quarter year-on-year to 62,796.518 MT while imports of pork cuts increased by 16 percent to 189,405.236 MT.

Chicken meat imports, meanwhile, grew by 6.43 percent year-on-year to 345,860.144 MT from 324,977.39 MT, lifted by higher purchases of mechanically deboned meat abroad, which is a critical raw material used to manufacture processed meat items like hotdogs and meat loaves.

Chicken MDM imports grew by 9.7 percent to 195,796.042 MT from 178,461.611 MT.

BAI data showed that imports of chicken cuts dropped by 8.4 percent to 42,518.49 MT from 46,400.6 MT. Meanwhile, imports of chicken leg quarters inched up to 87,000.504 MT from last year’s 85,161.981 MT.

Furthermore, beef imports expanded by 35 percent during the nine-month period to 144,023.835 MT from 106,676.734 MT as consumers’ demand for the meat product grew as the price difference with pork thinned this year.

Last month, meat importers cautioned that the rise in meat imports may not translate to lower meat prices as more shipments arrive in the country, especially delayed orders, squeezing the profit margins of traders and importers.

The Meat Importers and Traders Association explained that the sudden arrival of all the imported meat products is squeezing the liquidity of some industry players, forcing them to sell their items below landed costs.

However, the lower wholesale prices may not be passed on to consumers as other players in the value chain could keep the gains, especially since the market is anticipating higher prices in the current quarter, the group added.

At present, pork liempo in Metro Manila costs between P33 and P400 per kilo while pork kasim fetches from P280 to P360 per kilo, based on Department of Agriculture (DA) monitoring reports. DA reports also showed that the retail price of whole chicken ranges from P140 to P210 per kilo.