MEAT IMPORTS rose 19.4% by volume in the 11 months to November, led by pork and beef, according to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
The BAI reported meat shipments of 1.33 billion kilograms in the first 11 months. Meat imports in November grew 46.7% to 141.34 million kilos.
Accounting for about 50.4% of all imports, pork shipments rose 21.9% to 671.56 million kilos for the period.
Brazil supplied around 184.81 million kilos of pork, followed by Spain (158.14 million kilos) and Canada (92.94 million kilos).
Beef imports increased 39.7% to 187.71 million kilos during the 11 months accounting for 14.1% of meat imports.
Imports of beef from Brazil amounted to 80.68 million kilos, followed by Australia (49.59 million kilos) and Ireland (15.54 million kilos).
Shipments of chicken totaled 435.5 million kilos in the 11 months, up 10.7% and accounting for 32.7% of meat imports.
Brazil remained the top supplier of chicken with 216.9 million kilos, followed by the US (145.73 million kilos) and Australia (9.32 million kilos).
Imports of turkey meat more than doubled to 1.27 million kilos. Shipments accounted for 0.1% of total meat imports.
On the other hand, shipments of duck, lamb, and buffalo meat declined during the 11-month period.
Buffalo imports, which accounted for 2.6% of total volume, slipped 9.65% during the period to 35.2 million kilos.
Shipments of duck declined 25.8% to 208,792 kilos, while lamb imports fell 13.4% to 613,448 kilos. — Adrian H. Halili
