Faced with a supply glut because of the falling demand from China for pork and poultry, suppliers from Europe, Brazil and the United States would look towards the Philippines, Japan and South Korea to sell their supply.
And the Philippines – faced with a flat production of hogs and chicken alongside a sharp increase in demand for protein like chicken and pork – would be buying more of these products from these sources to address rising demand.
But the Philippines, South Korea and Japan can only absorb so much and still not meet the supplies that normally go to China, the USDA said in a report.
Philippine pork imports are expected to rise to 500,000 metric tons (MT) this year compared to 448,000MT last year, the USDA report quoted by Business Mirror said.
Data from the Bureau of Animal Industry showed that pork imports from January to May rose 10.6 percent to 253,548 MT.
Total hog production is expected to be flat after a 1.05 MMT performance in 2023 leading to a shortfall of 1.59 MMT this year. Demand is seen growing at 2 percent from last year, the USDA said.
Shipments of chicken meat are forecast at 465,000 MT in 2024 over that of last year’s volume of 438,000 MT.
Domestic chicken production was expected to increase 3 percent to 1.54 MMT this year and with demand expected at 1.99 MMT, local chicken production would still not fulfill the demand, the report added.
The Meat Importers and Traders Association (MITA), composed of poultry and hog importers, said Executive Order (EO) No. 62, which extended low import tariffs, could stabilize meat import costs even with high international prices.
EO 62, signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., extended low tariffs on pork and mechanically deboned chicken meat until 2028.
The tariff for pork was kept at 15 percent for shipments within the minimum access volume and 25 percent for out-quota shipments. The rate for mechanically deboned chicken was retained at five percent.
Photo Courtesy: Department of Agriculture
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