The influx of pork imports and the lockdowns imposed in Metro Manila and key Philippine cities have caused the country’s frozen pork inventory to remain above the 70,000-metric ton (MT) level for the fourth straight week in mid-September.
Latest National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) data showed that as of September 13, nationwide frozen pork inventory in cold storages reached 75,882.49 MT, slightly lower than the 76,046.43 MT recorded on September 6.
Bulk, or about 73,767.39 MT, of the total frozen pork inventory was imported while the remaining volume of 2,115.10 MT came from local producers.
Data from the attached agency of the Department of Agriculture indicated that the volume of imported pork in cold storage facilities was slightly higher than the previous week’s 73,718.52 MT while that of local pork fell from the previous week’s 2,327.91 MT.
Anthony S. Dizon, president of the Cold Chain Association of the Philippines, said frozen pork inventory remains above the 70,000-MT level due to pork import arrivals under the government’s minimum access volume plus (MAV+) program and the build-up in cold storage facilities due to the recent lockdowns. Under the MAV+ program, which sought to boost domestic supply, the government will allow traders to bring in some 200,000 MT of imported pork at lower tariffs.
Last month, Metro Manila was placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), previously the country’s strictest lockdown measure, from August 6 to 20. The restriction imposed on Metro Manila was eased to a modified ECQ (MECQ) from August 21 until September 15.
“The current inventory is expected since imports under the MAV plus have started to arrive, which is estimated by government authorities to be around 35,000 MT a month,” Dizon told the BusinessMirror.
“Also, the recent MECQ resulted in the build-up of inventory since there is no market pull as dine-in for restaurants was restricted. There was little to no demand at all.”
The BusinessMirror earlier reported that the Philippines approved the importation of 1.717 million MT of meat products as of end-August—more than double than last year’s volume—driven by the country’s dire need for pork supply.
The volume was based on the total number of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPS-ICs) approved and issued by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) for meat imports from January to August.
The volume, based on latest BAI data, was 107 percent higher than the 828,892.915 MT approved for importation in the same period of last year.
BAI data showed that pork imports accounted for half of the approved SPS-ICs during the eight-month period or about 837,955.337 MT, which was triple the 276,424.228 MT approved a year ago.