JAN-NOV MEAT IMPORTS SURPASS 2021 RECORD–REPORT
THE country’s meat imports in January to November surged to a new record high of 1.25 million metric tons (MMT), surpassing the volume recorded in 2021, due to more pork purchases, the latest government data showed.
Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) data indicated that total meat imports in 11 months rose by 13.63 percent from 1.1 MMT recorded a year ago.
Also, import volume during the 11-month period was already higher than the 1.165mmt recorded in 2021.
BAI data showed that pork imports drove the double-digit expansion rate in total meat imports as it accounted for more than half of the total volume imported during the 11-month period.
Porkimportsreached664,154.535 MT, 27.5 percent higher than the 520,932.057 MT recorded a year ago.
The country has been on a porkbuying spree after the government lowered tariff rates to boost domestic supply which has been drastically reduced by African swine fever.
The Philippines imported 375,219.027 MT of prime cuts of pork (bellies and cuts) during the 11-month period. Out of the volume, 299,424.825 MT were pork cuts while the remaining 75,794.202 MT were pork bellies, based on BAI data.
The country’s chicken meat imports, which accounted for a third of total meat imports, declined slightly to 372,040.394 MT from 375,736.273 MT due to lower leg quarter purchases. The country’s chicken leg quarter imports fell by 15 percent year-onyear to 91,514.302 MT.
The country’s imports of mechanically deboned meat (MDM) of chicken, a vital raw material in producing processed and canned meat products, slightly increased to 222,668.901 MT from last year’s 217,461.320 MT.
The country’s beef imports rose by 15.77 percent on an annual basis to 171,600.268 MT while purchases of buffalo meat abroad fell to 43,371.414 MT from 44,527.574 MT, based on BAI data.
Themeatimportersandtradersassociation(mita)earlierwarnedthatthe price of imported meat products could rise by at least 10 percent in the coming months due to the continuous weakening of the peso and tightening global supply. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/09/22/ imported-meat-prices-to-riseonpeso-global-supply-woes/)
Mita already wrote to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., urging him to issue a new executive order (EO) that would extend the validity of lower tariff rates on pork imports to mitigate price increases.
In a letter submitted to Marcos, the group proposed the extension and furtherloweringofporktariffratesfor at least five more years to “stem” the rate of increase in the country’s food prices.