THE news report, which said that pork exports from Brazil to the Philippines would henceforth be faster and better coordinated, was not given the full context it deserved. The news report merely said that our country is now the second biggest market for Brazilian pork, and the pork exporters there are anticipating an expanding, thriving market. (That is on top of the already substantial beef exports of Brazil to the Philippines.) And the basis of the pork exporters' enthusiasm? From the January to June 2023 pork exports that totaled 50,922 metric tons (MT), the January to June 2024 shipments to the Philippines were recorded at 84,279 MT, a more than 60 percent jump.

That figure was also 14 percent of Brazil's pork exports for the first semester of 2024.