Ricardo Luis Bocalandro —JORDEENE B. LAGARE
MANILA, Philippines — Argentina is ready to export more poultry and meat to the Philippines to take advantage of the country’s expanding economy and increasing food demand.
“[We] are open and ready to supply whatever you may need in terms of poultry and pork and beef, and many of these products,” Argentina Ambassador to the Philippines Ricardo Luis Bocalandro said on Friday.
Bocalandro said Argentina spots “a window of opportunity” to supply meat to the country. This is amid the temporary ban on importing poultry from Brazil due to a bird flu outbreak.
He also said that Argentina is prepared to export large quantities of products abroad. The South American country is also ready and receive imports from other countries. Their new government is shifting towards free market and exports.
According to the Argentine envoy, the Philippines is a “very important” market for Argentina, particularly for their poultry exporters. This is so, especially since the Philippine market has opened for the export of various meat products to the archipelago.
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“It’s a growing market. It’s a growing economy,” he added. “You are growing not less than 5 percent a year for many years already, which is a tremendous number,” he said. This was on the sidelines of meetings with Argentine firms that the Philippine Chamber of Commerce organized.
“And you are a large population in comparison to us. We are under 50 million and you are 115 million. It’s a big market placed in the center of the world today, the world of businesses today. Asia is really an engine of the world of commerce. For us, it’s a market we have to really foster and take care of and know by heart,” he said.
Trade mission from Argentina
Apart from meat products, Bocalandro said Argentina was prepared to share its expertise, particularly in agribusiness technologies, with the Philippines to expand bilateral agricultural cooperation between both countries.
About 12 Argentine companies are currently in the Philippines for trade mission. They want to explore new business opportunities as well as boost trade and investment collaboration.
The trade mission comes six months after the Department of Agriculture (DA) accredited foreign meat establishments (FMEs) in Argentina to supply beef, pork and meat to the country.
In Department Order No 22 issued on Nov. 26 2024, the DA cited 45 FMEs that went through an audit. They were found to be compliant to local and international quarantine and meat inspection systems procedures.
Data from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) showed that Argentina delivered 65,739 kilograms of imported meat as of March, a 21.7 percent increase from a month ago.
Argentina’s meat shipments represent less than a percent of the 344.59 million kg of meat imports that reached the country during the reference period.
Meanwhile, data provided by Argentina showed that its pork production reached 800,000 metric tons in 2024 and is projected to rise by 5 percent this year.
Argentina is present in other parts of the globe, including China, its leading export market in Asia and South Korea.