PHL dairy imports drop 17% in 2023 — FAO

PHILIPPINE DAIRY imports declined to 2.32 million metric tons (MT) milk equivalent in 2023 due to a drop in exports from major dairy producing countries, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.

In a report, the FAO said that imports declined 17.7% from 2.81 million MT a year earlier.

It added that dairy importing economies like China, Indonesia,

the Philippines, and Japan saw significant volume drops.

It said the decline in global dairy exports was led by the US, whose shipments fell to 12.56 million MT, down 11.3% from a year earlier.

“Several other large producers, such as Australia, Türkiye, and Argentina, reported significant export drops, while New Zealand and the European Union gained the most,” the FAO said.

Imports of skim milk powder to the Philippines also declined due to higher prices.

“Currency depreciations induced some countries to lower (skim milk powder) purchases, such as the Philippines, where imports reached an eight-year low in 2023,” the report added.

Skim milk powder is mainly used in condensed milk, evaporated milk and other dairy products.

The Philippines can meet less than 1% of its milk demand from domestic production, with the rest needing to be imported.

In 2023, Philippine dairy production was 17,850 MT, or about 0.8% of milk consumption of 1.94 million MT. The dairy cow herd was 75,798 head in 2023.

The government is aiming to increase dairy production to 80 million liters of milk per year by 2028. —