END-MAY MEAT IMPORTS UP BY 1.5%

The country’s meat imports as of May increased by 1.5 percent with pork and chicken accounting for more than twothirds of the total, according to the Bureau of Animal Industry.

Latest data showed the country imported 460.9 million kilograms of meat, higher than 454.2 million kg in the same period last year.

Pork imports totaled 250.9 million kg, up by 16.2 percent from a year ago. Pork cuts and offals cornered the majority of the volume at 100.8 million kg and 88.2 million kg, respectively.

In May, President Duterte signed Executive Order No. 171, which extended the reduced tariffs on certain agricultural commodities until the end of the year to cushion the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on food prices.

This retained the most favored nation tariff rates for pork imports at 15 percent for in-quota volume and 25 percent for out-quota volume.

The Department of Agriculture also restored early this month the 90-day validity of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for imported meat amid shipping delay problems worldwide caused by COVID-19 restrictions.

The country sourced 130.5 million kg of chicken, down by 4.6 percent from the previous year. Deboned chicken accounted for 82.4 million kg of chicken imports, followed by chicken leg quarter with 29.8 million kg.

Beef imports decreased by 5.7 percent to 62.9 million kg. Beef cuts cornered nearly twothirds of the volume at 40.2 million kg.

Brazil remained the Philippines’ leading source of meat imports, followed by Spain and Canada.