Business
Trade & Industry
Dairy imports fall 8.5% in Q1 as local milk production grows
Dairy imports fall 8.5% in Q1 as local milk production grows
The country’s dairy imports declined by 8.5 percent year-on-year to nearly 800,000 metric tons in liquid milk equivalent (MT-LME) during the first quarter, coinciding with the growth in domestic dairy output.
State-run National Dairy Authority (NDA) reported that dairy imports reached 799,320 MT-LME from January to March, lower than the 873,700 MT-LME recorded in the same period last year.
The bulk, or nearly 40 percent, of dairy imports in the first three months consisted of skim milk powder at 316,100 MT-LME, down slightly from the previous year’s 321,110 MT-LME.
Other milk imports in powder form registered a sharp annual decline to 133,170 MT-LME, a contraction of 22 percent from 170,700 MT-LME.
Other dairy imports declined by more than nine percent to 317,260 MT-LME from 351,840 MT-LME last year.
Meanwhile, imports of ready-to-drink (RTD) liquid milk expanded by nearly six percent to 31,790 MT-LME from 30,040 MT-LME.
Following the decline in total dairy imports, their total value fell by four percent to ₱20.67 billion in the first quarter from ₱21.59 billion a year ago.
NDA data showed that the dairy import unit cost during the three-month period stood at $0.44 per liter, up slightly from $0.43 per liter last year.
In peso terms, the cost of imported milk was estimated at ₱25.86 per liter in the first three months, up 4.7 percent from ₱24.71 per liter a year ago.
The share of dairy imports eased to 98.55 percent from 98.75 percent, while local milk production increased its contribution to 1.45 percent from 1.25 percent.
The latest Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed that first-quarter domestic dairy output increased by 6.8 percent to 11,790 MT-LME from 11,040 MT-LME in the same period last year.
Based on current prices, the value of local milk production grew by 10 percent to ₱777.56 million from ₱704.94 million.
“The local dairy sector recorded positive performance during the first quarter of 2026, marked by sustained expansion in dairy herd inventory and continued growth in local milk production,” NDA said.
The country’s dairy inventory increased by more than a quarter to 201,190 heads from 158,692 heads, PSA data showed.
Despite the improvement in local production, dairy exports contracted by nearly half to 6,330 MT-LME from 11,020 MT-LME.
“Overall, first-quarter 2026 performance indicates that while the local dairy sector continues to expand in herd inventory and local milk production, local output remains insufficient to substantially reduce import dependence,” NDA said.