Philippines Meat Imports Slowdown in H1 Casts Doubt on Full-Year Outlook

THE Meat Importers and Traders Association (MITA) said on Wednesday that strong first-half meat imports are not guaranteed to continue for the rest of the year after a slowdown late in the period. MITA president emeritus Jesus C. Cham said that while import volume in the six months to June rose 12% to 872,000 metric tons (MT), shipments fell off the pace in June to 20,000 MT. “It remains to be seen whether this is an aberration or an indication of a forthcoming decrease in imports,” Mr. Cham told BusinessWorld via Viber. Mr. Cham said the slowdown could have been caused by the weak peso and high logistics costs, though traders have also cited port congestion as a factor. “We are in uncharted waters with the record low forex and high energy/petrol cost,” Mr. Cham said. Mr. Cham said pork accounted for 52.2% of the shipments, up 11% during the half, while poultry imports grew 33.4% led by the mechanically-deboned meat segment. Beef imports rose 11% while buffalo meat rose 3.2%. According to the Bureau of Animal Industry, Brazil was the top supplier of meat to the Philippines at 429,691 MT. The Philippine economy continues to grapple with inflationary pressures, and rising food prices are a significant concern for household budgets. The dynamics of meat imports are critical for ensuring domestic food supply stability and price control. For goods reliant on imports, currency fluctuations and global logistics costs have a direct impact on consumer purchasing power. Managing import dependency remains a key challenge for the Philippines in terms of food security.