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Bord Bia

Irish Beef Bucks Competitors to Maintain Growth in the Philippines

30th November 2020

Jack Hogan, Market Specialist – EU Programmes Asia

Irish beef exports to the Philippines have remained strong in the opening nine months of 2020 despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many nations across the globe, the Philippines has been implementing strict lockdown measures on-and-off since March in an attempt to curb the virus. These measures resulted in temporary closures of dine-in food service outlets, which is a key channel for beef consumption in the market, however retail sales experienced strong growth in the first half of 2020 as consumers were forced to stay indoors. SM Retail Group, a major supermarket operator in the Philippines, reported 15% growth in food sales for the half of this year.       

Ireland is currently the 3rd largest supplier of beef to the Philippines, behind Australia and Brazil respectively. According to the Philippines Statistics Bureau, Ireland is the only major beef exporter to experience volume growth in the Philippines this year, with Brazil (-8%), Australia (-14%) and the USA (-45%) all experiencing year on year declines for the first eight months of 2020. This is a testament to the resilient relationships which have been developed by Bord Bia and Irish exporters with key partners in the Philippines.  

In the first nine months of this year, the total value of Irish beef exports to the market stood at €33.2 million, a 10% increase from the same period last year. The decrease in offal exports was offset by strong growth in higher-value frozen bone-in and boneless cuts, which now account for 93% of total Irish beef exports to the market. With encouraging signs for a COVID-19 vaccine and the gradual recovery of the foodservice sector, Irish beef exports are on course to continue growing into 2021 and beyond.  

Bord Bia Promotions

Bord Bia continues to undertake a range of promotional activities to raise awareness of Irish food & drink in the Philippines. In April 2019, Bord Bia launched an EU co-financed campaign in the market – European Pork & Beef – which will invest €3.95 million in the Philippines, Korea and Vietnam over the three-year life-span of the campaign. In light of COIVD-19, Bord Bia pivoted from offline activities such as trade shows and seminars to more digital focused activities such as trade webinars and key opinion leader (KOL) engagement. Last August, Bord Bia launched the East Meets West Culinary Competition which saw 100 chefs, culinary students and influencers submit Filipino recipes using Irish pork and beef. A judging panel consisting of well-known chefs in the market selected the top 5 contestants who competed in a finale cook-off event in the Grand Hyatt Manila at the end of October. The competition received sizeable local media coverage throughout with the initial launch generating over 3 million impressions on social media and reaching a further 21 million through online and traditional media coverage.   

 

 

Sources:

Bord Bia Performance & Prospects 2020

Central Statistics Office (CSO)

Philippines Statistics Bureau

Bord Bia Market Insight Reports

https://www.bordbia.ie/industry/covid-19/understanding/market-insight-reports/