THE country’s chicken-meat imports expanded by 23.69 percent to 81,147.81 metric tons (MT) in January to June from the 65,606 MT recorded in the same period last year, according to updated data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
PSA data showed that chicken imports in the first half of the year were valued at $85.42 million. The figure was 32.21 higher than the $64.61 million recorded in January to June 2014. Chicken-meat imports for the first quarter of the year registered at 44,217.93 MT or 46.94 percent higher compared with the same period last year.
The updated data, meanwhile, showed that importation in the second quarter increased only by almost 4 percent to 36,929.88 MT, as compared to 35,512.60 MT posted a year ago.
The Philippines usually imports chicken-leg quarters from the US and Canada under the so-called minimum- access volume (MAV) scheme of the World Trade Organization.
Manila allows the importation of 23 million kilograms of chicken meat at a lower tariff under the MAV scheme. Meat-processing companies and fast-food restaurants are among the top importers of chicken meat.