More than six years after its first African swine fever (ASF) outbreak brought a sudden halt to its key export markets, Germany has secured a regionalisation agreement with the Philippines.
The agreement has reopening this key south-east Asian market to German exporters of pork and offal outside the infected areas.
“The current agreement acknowledges that not all of Germany should be classified as a risk area for ASF, thus allowing trade in pork to resume. This represents a significant development for the German meat industry, as the Philippines was one of its largest importers before the ban,” according to German pig industry body ISN.
Prior to the ban, up to 90,000 tonnes of pork were shipped annually from Germany to the Philippines, making it the fourth largest importer of German pork outside the EU, behind China, the UK and South Korea.
German pork shipments to South Korea resumed in November 2025 following the successful conclusion of a regionalisation agreement, while a memorandum of understanding for such an agreement was signed with China, the largest exporter, in February of this year.
“The actual conclusion of this agreement would be of great importance for German meat exports,” ISN said.