Inside Pigs
Philippines is a bright spot for pork exports
A small ray of hope for European pork exporters: pork imports from the Philippines, the most important buyer after China, are approaching a peak. The country's pig population has been hit hard by outbreaks of African swine fever. This spring, the country's president, Duterte, announced his intention to significantly increase pork imports in order to limit price increases.
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In the period from January to September 2021, almost 430.000 tons of pork were imported. That was no less than 263% more than in the same period a year earlier. This volume is also 72% larger than for the whole of 2020. However, the volume in September was more than 6.000 tons lower than in August. This is evident from figures from the Philippine government.
Bright spot for European exporters
The increased volumes were largely attributable to Spanish suppliers. Of all pork imported in the first nine months of this year, 24% came from Spain. The country supplied 104.000 tons of pork to the Philippines. The other top suppliers were Canada with 92.000 tons and the United States with 58.000 tons.
The increased volume, although small, will be a bright spot for European pork exporters. The country was the most important buyer of European pork in the first seven months of this year, after China. It bought 204.000 tons of European product. China accounted for a volume of 1.863.000 tons. This is evident from figures from the European Statistical Office (Eurostat).