Surprising dairy trade statistics
3rd August 2010 by Andrew Matheson, Manila | No Comments
The dairy trade is big business for New Zealand in the Philippines. Most people are really surprised to hear that the country is our fourth-most important market in the world for dairy products.
What surprises them even more is that just three years ago, the Philippines was New Zealand’s second-most important dairy market after Australia. Since then exports to the Philippines have slipped below those to Japan, and China has overtaken the Philippines (and every other market) in a way that few people would have expected.
But half a billion dollars per year is big money by any reckoning, and being the fourth-largest export destination makes the Philippines very important for the New Zealand dairy industry. That’s why four directors of Fonterra, New Zealand’s major dairy company, were in Manila this week to meet the managers of Fonterra’s Philippine subsidiaries.
I had a good discussion with them on Sunday evening. They told me that 2009 was a tough year for the company in this market. They had to deal not only with very tight economic conditions but also two supertyphoons, one of which devastated large areas of the capital city. These extreme weather events knocked the economy even further. But Fonterra is enthusiastic about prospects in the Philippines, and is already seeing good signs of recovery across their product range.
New Zealand is the dominant source for dairy imports to the Philippines, and it enjoys a justifiable reputation as a consistent supplier of high-quality products. Just as New Zealand will continue to be an important source of those products, so the Philippines will continue to be a very important market for the New Zealand dairy industry.
