Meat imports down amid high global prices, weak peso

Higher global meat prices and a weaker peso pulled down the country's meat imports by 11 percent on an annual basis to a little over 1.2 million metric tons last year.

- JASPER EMMANUEL ARCALAS

Based on latest Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) data obtained by The STAR, total meat imports in 2023 declined by 152,000 MT to 1.204 million MT from the record volume of 1.356 million MT in 2022.

The double-digit decline in overall meat imports was caused by lower purchases of pork abroad, which fell by almost 17 percent on an annual basis.