THE country’s meat imports in January fell by 16 percent to 60,182.847 metric tons (MT) from 71,914.542 MT, pulled down by chicken imports that plunged 60 percent, Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) data showed.
Latest BAI data analyzed by the BusinessMirror showed that the 60-percent reduction in chicken meat imports was more than enough to pull down overall volume despite double-digit growth rates in beef and pork imports.
BAI data showed that chicken meat imports in January fell to 16,939.025 MT from 42,645.749 MT recorded in the same month of last year.
BAI data showed that imports of mechanically deboned meat (MDM) of chicken, a key raw material used to manufacture processed meat products like luncheon meat and hot dogs, declined by more than half to 9,522.033 MT from 24,948.143 MT last year.
Likewise, imports of chicken cuts and chicken leg quarters (CLQ) in January fell by 66 percent and 54 percent to 1,528.955 MT and 5,603.938 MT, respectively, BAI data showed.
Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita) President Jesus C. Cham told the BusinessMirror that MDM imports could have declined due to high prices in the global market caused by import bans due to Avian Influenza (AI) concerns from source countries.
The BusinessMirror learned that the retail price of MDM has breached the P135 per kilogram level, about 60 percent higher than its P85 per kg quotation in December.
“[Chicken] cuts and CLQ came from excess inventory for the year and unexpected strong sales in November and December, importers were caught flatfooted with few outstanding orders,” he said.
BAI data showed that pork imports in January rose by 57 percent to 28,057.961 MT from 17,823.207 MT. Cham attributed the increase to possible spillover from December supply due to delayed arrivals.
“More probable cause is the high price of local pork, and importers saw opportunity. But [this] did not arrive in time for Christmas,” Cham added.
BAI data showed that pork imports posted growth across all cuts of the meat product.
The country’s imports of pork cuts expanded by 144 percent to 6,915.019 MT from 2,831.721 MT while imports of bellies rose by 75 percent to 3,110.3 MT, based on BAI data.
The government is now looking at raising the minimum access volume (MAV) for pork imports to 400,000 MT to plug the shortfall in domestic supply and stabilize retail prices.
The proposal is on top of the petition of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to lower tariffs on in-quota pork imports to 5 percent and out-quota imports to 15 percent for six months.
BAI data showed that beef imports in January grew by 27 percent to 11,071.991 MT from 8,375.568 MT.
The country’s total meat imports in 2020 rose by 6 percent to a record-high of 894,698 MT from 844,971 MT recorded in 2019, based on BAI data.
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