Philippines to import more distilled spirits

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is expected to import more distilled spirits this year and next year as restrictions ease, allowing bars and pubs to resume operations and big social events take place, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.

In the latest report by its Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the USDA said the country would see higher importation of distilled spirits in terms of value this year, up 20 percent to $143 million, according to traders.

“This year, most organizations have eased back to office life. Consumers have cut back on consuming alcoholic drinks at home, affecting the sales of low-ABV (alcohol by volume) drinks, typically containing between four and seven percent ABV. On the other hand, a growing number of bars and pubs have come to life, attracting ‘revenge’ partygoers eager to spend on booze. Business entertaining and big weddings are also back on track,” it said.

But in terms of volume, the country is projected to ship 87 million liters this year, 18 percent lower than the 106 million liters imported last year.

The 2021 volume, however, was already higher than 103 million liters of booze imported in 2019.

“The Philippines imported a higher volume of distilled spirits in 2021 than it did in pre- pandemic 2019, despite closing its borders to foreign travelers, and the complete shutdown of bars and clubs nationwide,” the USDA said.

But in terms of value, the value of imported distilled spirits was 22 percent lower than the $153 million in 2019 to $119 million in 2021.

This is because the “average price of imported distilled spirits dropped 25 percent as consumers shifted to consuming low-ABV drinks at home, such as soju and cocktail mixes.”

Nonetheless, the USDA said the country’s importation of distilled spirits would “return to pre-pandemic level by 2023.”

The US agency said that with the shift in trends, traders are rethinking their product mix and reordering more expensive distilled spirits, such as brandies and whiskeys.

This presents a strong opportunity for US distilled spirit producers to tap into.

“As the hospitality and food service sectors ease into post-pandemic recovery mode, traders are optimistic that sales of US distilled spirits to the Philippines will climb to $5.3 million in 2022, up 15 percent year-on-year,” the USDA said.

“Prospects for growth are exceptionally bright due to the country’s young, fast growing, and highly urbanized population, the strong presence of premium US brands, and the proliferation of social media,” the USDA said.

Currently, the US is among the top five suppliers of distilled spirits to the Philippines, supplying mostly whiskey.