The British Chamber of Commerce Philippines hosted a two-part event promoting UK Pork in the Philippines. The recently concluded event consists of discussions with UK levy group the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Business-to-Business (B2B) meetings between the leading UK Pork exporters and Philippine importers.
During the forum, Jonathan Eckley, Head of Asia Pacific Export of AHDB cited the significance of the Philippine market to the UK. “Philippines is one of the most important markets for the UK outside of the EU and we really see a strong growth there”. He added, “During the last eight months this year, UK pork exports to the Philippines reached nearly 20,000 tonnes of pork already, obviously a clear sign for strong demand”. A huge jump in comparison from the previous 2020 record as the UK supplied 7,989 tonnes equivalent to 4% of total Philippines pig meat imports.
Chris Nelson, BCCP Executive Director and Trustee moderator of the Q&A session asked Susan Stewart, Senior Export Manager of AHDB to identify factors for the significant demand for UK pork. “Exports increased in the Philippines and in general to Asia partly due to demand as it is needed for it with African Swine Fever [present] across the world and wherein domestic supply isn’t strong as it was previously,” Stewart said.
For the AHDB group, the increased demand for UK pork exports particularly in the Asian region was also enhanced slightly due to BREXIT wherein products can’t move out freely into the EU.
Sustainability and environment are key for UK meat production. The UK is also a worldwide leader in animal welfare and globally recognized for its provenance, quality and traceability. It ensures limited damage to the environment and is constantly looking at ways of reducing the carbon footprint at all times. Pigs are well taken care of to the highest standard to provide the highest quality of food and it is the Chamber’s objective to further promote this culture to the Philippines.
The B2B meetings were well attended by the leading Philippine importers and UK pork suppliers including Cranswick, Norwest Foods International, Wicks Manor, GPS Food Group, Karro Food Group and Pilgrims Pride.