The Government of the Philippines has communicated to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the opening of its market to the entry of beef from Spain, as well as the renewal of the authorization for the export of meat and pork products from Spain, both by the system accreditation procedure.
These authorizations are the result of the intense work carried out by the Ministries of Agriculture of both countries, and highlights the MAPA's negotiating efforts with the health authorities of the different third countries of interest to Spanish producers, within the framework of promoting internationalization of the Spanish agri-food sector.
The opening of the Philippine market comes after a long negotiating process, started in 2017, in which the Spanish Administration has had to provide numerous technical information to prove the safety and quality of Spanish beef exports. In this process, the Philippine authorities carried out a specific audit visit to Spain, which ended with the recognition of the guarantees offered by the beef production and Spanish veterinary control systems.
Within the framework of these negotiations, the model of the health certificate that will accompany the exports will be specified shortly with the Philippine authorities, which will include the conditions that the consignments to be shipped must meet, which will facilitate the start of the exports.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will publish in its Web page all information on the procedure and the technical and sanitary requirements for access by exporting companies to this new market, as soon as they are agreed with the Philippine health authorities.
Philippine market
For the beef sector, this new authorization joins that of other markets opened in recent months, such as Japan, Vietnam or Singapore, which allow the positioning of the Spanish beef sector in these important Asian countries, which will expand its possibilities of export, hitherto focused on the countries of North Africa or the Persian Gulf.
The opening of the Philippine market has been one of the Ministry's priorities due to the great importance it has for the international projection of Spanish meat products. With a population of over 106 million, the Philippines – whose economy is growing at a rate of over 6% annually – is the second largest market in Southeast Asia, after Vietnam. For the pig sector, it is the third most important destination outside the European Union, behind China and Japan, with an export value of 97 million euros and an upward trend compared to previous years.
According to OECD estimates, the self-sufficiency level of beef in the Philippines is 67% and represents a deficit of over 163,000 tons, which is likely to increase in the coming years due to changes in the consumption habits of its citizens. Currently, Brazil, Ireland and the United States are the main suppliers of beef to this Asian country.
