Chicken meat production in the Philippines is forecast to rise 5.8 percent in 2027 from the 2026 estimate, to 1.92 million tonnes ready-to-cook, according to a USDA Foreign Agricultural Service report. The growth is expected to come from expanding poultry integrators and commercial farms and from efficiency gains through improved genetics, automation and staff training.

Commercial farms held nearly 57 percent of the country's chicken inventory on 1 July 2026, up almost 13 percent from a year earlier, according to Philippine Statistics Authority data. Several companies have announced major investments, including a PhP160 million expansion in Central Luzon and a PhP500 million, 40-hectare facility being built in the same region by a multinational agro-industrial company.

Growth is also being reinforced by the slow recovery of the swine sector from African swine fever. Hog production grew 5.6 percent year on year in the first half of 2026, but the industry may take years to rebound fully; chicken inventory has risen 22 percent since 2021, the height of the ASF crisis, while swine inventory has fallen 7 percent over the same period.

The main risk is El Niño, forecast to persist through the first half of 2027 and possibly reach a very strong state before the end of 2026. Industry contacts expect tunnel-ventilated, temperature-controlled housing on commercial farms to limit the impact, while operators with traditional housing are adding ventilation and adjusting feeding schedules. For Bangladesh's poultry sector, which faces the same El Niño season and the same shift from backyard to commercial production, the Philippine outlook is a close comparison.

Photo: Judgefloro / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Source: The Poultry Site