Brazil pork shipments to PH to stay strong

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL — Brazil is likely to continue exporting pork to the Philippines in 2026 because the country’s hog industry is still recovering from African swine fever (ASF).

Estevao Carvalho, Executive Manager of Markets at the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA), was asked if exports would surpass 700,000 MT this year. He indicated that imports are likely to stay “at current levels” due to existing market conditions.

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“What we’ve seen in recent years in the Philippines was an increase in the volume of import of pork, a lot coming from Brazil,” Carvalho said in a press conference with foreign journalists ahead of the SIAVS 2026, the largest animal protein event in this country.

Pork export surge

In 2025, Brazil exported 392,902 metric tons of pork to the Philippines. This was a 54.5 percent increase from 254,331 metric tons in 2024. The Philippines is Brazil’s biggest buyer of pork.

In the January to June period, pork shipments to Manila increased by 32.4 percent to 214,038 MT.

According to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), Brazil is the Philippines’ top meat supplier, holding a 52.2 percent of the market, as the first half of 2026.

Carvalho stated that future export volumes will rely on the hog industry’s recovery and disease containment efforts.

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“It’s a little difficult for us to predict exactly what will happen with the volume, because we understand that from the moment the Philippines starts to be able to control the African swine fever and resume its production process, naturally this number will adjust,” he added.

ABPA President Ricardo Santin said many Philippine hog producers have left the industry following the ASF outbreak.

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“One of the information we have is that many of the producers have also given up their activity,” Santin said, adding that Brazilian pork exporters are prepared to help meet the country’s supply requirements.

Santin also said that the country’s hog production has significantly declined since the ASF outbreak.

READ: Philippine meat imports rose 13% in 2025

The swine inventory in the Philippines grew slightly to 8.79 million heads in 2025. This is an increase from 8.75 million heads in 2024, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

However, this is a 30.8 percent decrease from the 2019 level of 12.71 million heads, the year of the first ASF outbreak. As of July 10, the BAI reported active ASF cases in 18 provinces. /pai