Philstar.com
November 21, 2025 | 6:36pm
The British Chamber of Commerce Philippines (BCCP) and the UK Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) officially launched its three-day meat trade mission on November 18 to 20, 2025.
The mission facilitated the exporters’ delegation from Dunbia, Foyle Food Group and QK Meats to reinforce the partnership among local importers, distributors and meat processors.
AHDB as represented by International Trade Development Director Jonathan Eckley has previously noted the importance of establishing long-term partnerships in the Philippines, having maintained its status of being UK’s 2nd largest market for pork in Asia next to China.
The trade mission started in 2021 and has since conducted visits to retailers, wet markets, cold storage and meat processing facilities, noting the demand for British pork, beef and lamb.
Eckley previously noted that, “The meat trade is all about people – engaging with contacts in-market and building and maintaining business connections. One of our key roles at AHDB is providing support for our exporters in doing this to help them maximise opportunities presented and to thrive on the global stage.”
The delegation also met with key industry associations in the Philippines such as the Meat Importers and Traders Association (MITA) President Emeritus Jess Cham and other leading retail, importers and HORECA representatives.
Meat and meat preparations exported from the UK is valued at £29.9 million in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2025.
According to the Department of Agriculture Trade System Preliminary Data from January to September 2025, the Philippines imported 580,764 kilograms of beef and 15,372,030 kilograms of pork from the UK.
The Chamber has continued to work with the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Bureau of Customs (BoC), among others, to facilitate market access, ease of doing business and increased agricultural opportunities in both the Philippines and the UK market.
Recently, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced its plan to import 150,000 metric tons (MT) of pork, with two-thirds to be sold at the ‘Kadiwa stores’ to assist with meat processors and the food service industry and manage supply during the holiday season.
BCCP Executive Vice Chair Chris Nelson also emphasized the role of agricultural trade between the two countries, citing opportunities in the pork and beef industry.
He noted that, “Food security and managing inflation has been one of our key priorities. We have been working with AHDB since 2021 and we are proud to say that the Philippines continues to be an important market and we are glad to see that key players in the local market are taking advantage of these opportunities and we would like to see that grow further in the next coming years.”
Nelson also pointed out the existence of other agreements such as the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), as well as the Philippines’ interest in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in facilitating the growth of agricultural trade between the UK and the Philippines.