US dairy demand to grow in Philippines, ASEAN

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the whole of Southeast Asia remain to be a hotspot for dairy products coming from the US as economies gradually recover and demand starts to pick up.

In an email interview, the US Dairy Export Council-Southeast Asia said there is an expected continued growth for US dairy ingredient demand in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, amid favorable demographic and socioeconomic factors.

“There is a strong alignment between US dairy ingredient product offerings and the region’s food and beverage sector. By meeting the health and wellness needs and desires, it can also help address the double burden of malnutrition in the region,” USDEC regional director Dali Ghazalay told The STAR.

In the Philippines alone, Ghazalay said there is still tremendous potential as the economy gradually strengthens, coupled with a growing core of middle-class consumers.

The Philippines imports virtually all of its dairy products, especially milk powder, as domestic production cannot meet the country’s dairy demand of nearly three million metric tons liquid milk equivalent (MT LME) per year.

With a strong economy, an expanding middle class and a growing population, the Philippines is a large and rapidly expanding market for milk and dairy products with annual per capita milk consumption at 22 kilograms.

“But what bodes well in the near and longer term is the projected growth in key food and beverage categories regionally with the potential to utilize US dairy ingredients as advantageous functional and nutritional ingredient solutions in their product formulation,” she said.