Dairy production is expected to increase by 3.1 percent to 33,000 metric tons (MT) in liquid milk equivalent (LME) by 2025 from this year’s expected 32,000 MT LME, according to a report by the United States’ Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in Manila.
In a report dated October 23, FAS Manila said the growth will be driven by an increase in the dairy herd and the active implementation of the government’s dairy development projects.
“Production growth has been slow in previous years because of the inability to increase the dairy herd, mostly due to insufficient funding and little investment from the private sector. The top milk-producing areas are on the island of Luzon, including Laguna, Bulacan and Batangas. Davao and Bukidnon in Mindanao are also major producers,” the report said.
Despite the expected growth in local production, FAS Manila said the Philippines still cannot supply majority of its local dairy requirements that is likely to reach 3.04 million MT LME next year, up by 2 percent from this year’s expected 2.99 million MT LME.
The agency expects the Philippines’ dairy consumption this year to grow as an effect of “expanding middle class and a growing population” as well as “infrastructure investments, particularly in cold chain facilities, supermarkets and display areas.”
The report said with the expected increase in dairy consumption, imports can also grow to 3.1 million MT LME in 2025, up by 1.6 percent from this year’s 3.05 million MT LME.
The report added as of end-2023, the country’s top suppliers of dairy products were the United States with a 36 percent share followed by New Zealand with 19 percent.
Top dairy imports are skim milk powder (40 percent), whey powder (18 percent), cheese (7 percent), liquid ready-to-drink milk (4 percent) and whole milk powder (2 percent).
The National Dairy Authority sees the country achieving a 2-percent self-sufficiency in milk by next year, slightly higher than the 1.62 percent at present and still far from 5 percent eyed by 2028.
