THE inventory of frozen pork in accredited storage facilities rose 15% year on year to 94,234.80 metric tons (MT) at the end of September, according to the National Meat Inspection Service.

Imported pork accounted for 91,645.46 MT of the total, it said.

Region III accounted for 27,082.81 MT of the pork in cold storage, followed by Region IV-A with 26,463.68 MT and the National Capital Region (NCR) 25,732.74 MT.

The inventory of dressed chicken in cold storage declined 13.4% year on year to 48,626.49 MT.

Of the total inventory, 29,246.72 MT was imported.

Region IV-A had the largest stock of frozen chicken at 17,968.83 MT. This was followed by Region III with 8,307.23 MT and the NCR with 7,851.72 MT.

In the eight months to August, meat and meat product imports totaled 851.8 million kilograms (kg), according to the Bureau of Animal Industry.

Of this total, pork imports arriving during the period amounted to 464.8 million kg, with chicken imports at 244.8 million kg. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson