The Philippines' agriculture ministry expects pork imports to decline by 5 percent in 2027 and an additional 5 percent in 2028 as the country ramps up efforts to restore pig stocks to pre-African swine fever levels, according to Agriculture Undersecretary Dante Palabrica.
The government's 2026 budget includes funding for 32,000 gilts—young female pigs that have not yet bred—which are expected to yield litters amounting to up to one million pigs annually, representing a major step in repopulating the Philippines' hog inventory devastated by ASF outbreaks since September 2019.
Palabrica emphasized the need to produce one million pigs per year to protect domestic pork supply during the repopulation phase, while the country aims to complete administration of 500,000 doses of the African swine fever vaccine by mid-2026 before transitioning from government-controlled vaccinations to full commercial deployment.
The Philippines, one of the world's largest pork consumers, saw production plunge from approximately 1.6 million metric tons before the ASF outbreak to 1.1 million tons in 2020 and one million tons in 2021, with recovery remaining challenging despite expanded vaccine coverage, heightened biosecurity measures, and adoption of better swine genetics among commercial farms.
Canada exported approximately $279 million worth of pork and pork products to the Philippines last year, while Brazil has become the country's top pork import source following system accreditation granted in 2024, with Spain, Russia, Germany, and Poland also applying for regionalization recognition to allow imports from ASF-free zones within their territories.
