The latest figures from HMRC show that UK pork exports to the Philippines, for the first four months of 2022, were up 14% on last year for the same period; with the Philippines now the UK’s second largest non-EU pork export market, behind China.
Pork exports from the UK to the Philippines totalled nearly £17 million for the period of January to April 2022, and HMRC data shows that the amount of pig meat exported to the country from the UK has increased 46% – to 13,812 tonnes – from January to April 2022.
Since 2020, UK-Philippine pork exports have increased fourfold; in 2021 alone, almost £38 million worth of UK pork was exported.
AHDB export manager Susan Stewart has just returned from her first trade mission to Asia in two years, due to the Covid pandemic. Ms Stewart said that the Philippines is proving to be a very valuable market for the pork sector: “Demand for UK pork in the Philippines continues to increase, delivering a strong boost to the pork sector. In just four months, both the value and volume of shipments have risen significantly, following on from an incredible year for pork exports to Asia.”
Ms Stewart’s findings come as nine exporters, who completed an AHDB-organised three-day visit to the Philippines in May, return to the UK. During the visit, the exporters sat in on seminars and one-to-one meetings with key Philippine importers, as well as attending a British meat reception and market visits.
The aim of the mission was to increase UK exports to the market and re-connect and build networks in the country, with Ms Stewart declaring it a triumphant trip: “The visit to the Philippines was a huge success and gave our exporters the opportunity to learn about the changing trends in this growing market.”
She continued: “We also facilitated a number of important face-to-face meetings with importers, who were very interested in red meat from the UK – providing a number of potential leads for our red meat exporters.”