The Philippine food service sector is expected to further shrink by 13 percent to $7.44 billion this year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
The USDA said this is due to the continued hesitance of customers to return to restaurants for fear of contracting the new coronavirus disease 2019 as well as the continuing lockdown measures.
Sales of the food sector dropped 44 percent last year to P8.55 billion from P15.2 billion in 2019.
The USDA report dated Sept. 29, 2021 said most food service providers in the country have shifted to online delivery platforms and curbside pickups while larger chain restaurants also tried selling ready-to-cook meals at retail stores.
The USDA said despite reduced food service sales and strong competition from other suppliers, consumer-oriented agricultural exports from the US to the Philippines are set to hit a record with trade up by 35 percent to $840,000 through July 2021.
The Philippines was the ninth largest export market of US agricultural products last year, reaching a record $3.2 billion, or a 24 percent market share.
US agricultural imports benefit from increased minimum access volume and lowered tariffs of pork; growing preference for imported high-quality and healthier ingredients; trust of Filipinos towards American food sanitation standards; openness of the Philippine market to try new flavors; and the launching of frozen ready-to-eat meals and do-it-yourself ramen, pizza and milk tea product.
But imports are faced with challenges as well such as lack of close coordination between the public and private sectors on lockdowns; decrease of on-site sales due to low consumer foot-traffic, limited mobility of staff and reduced store hours; varying local government regulations particularly in the operations of coffee chains and the sale of alcoholic beverages; the rise of home-cooking and home-based entrepreneurs; and the effects of congested ports and limited availability of containers.
