IMPORTS of meat declined 9.7% year on year in the 10 months to October, with shipments of beef, pork, buffalo, and turkey dropping, according to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
The BAI said imports amounted to 1.02 billion kilograms (kg) during the period.
October imports totaled 95.98 million kg, down from 105.81 million kg in September and 118.45 million kg a year earlier.
Brazil was the top supplier, accounting for 343.86 million kg. This was followed by the US and Spain with 179.64 million kg and 123.36 million kg, respectively.
Pork accounted for 504.31 million kg or 49.5% of the total over the first ten months. Pork shipments fell 15.9% year on year.
Spain remained the top supplier of pork with 121.77 million kg, followed by Brazil with 92.12 million kg and Canada with 92.09 million kg.
Imports of beef fell 22.1% to 120.64 million kg for the period, or 11.8% of meat shipments.
The top supplier was Brazil with 46.58 million kg, followed by Australia with 34.44 million kg and Ireland 13.11 million kg.
Buffalo meat shipments fell 13.8% to 33.65 million kg, accounting for about 3% of total imports.
Shipments of turkey declined 4.9% to 391,630 kg.
The BAI also reported that imports of chicken, duck, and lamb rose during the period.
Chicken imports were up 4.3% from a year earlier to 359.23 million kg, or 35.3% of total imports.
The primary source for chicken was Brazil with 205.13 million kg, while the US supplied 130.5 million kg and Canada 11.87 million kg.
Duck imports totaled 252,783 kg, while lamb totaled 669,030 kg. — Adrian H. Halili
