"A result of Rosselkhoznadzor's work to open foreign markets, with active participation from the Russian trade mission and the representative of the Russian Agriculture Ministry in the Philippines, is access for Russian meat and cattle by-products to the Philippine market," it said.

Beef and beef by-products, excluding the head (including pharynx, tongue and associated lymph nodes) have been specifically approved for supply.

Two Russian beef producers are currently certified for exports to the Philippine market, Rosselkhoznadzor said.

These are the agricultural holding Miratorg (Bryansk Meat Company) and Tkachev Agrocomplex, it said.

"The Philippines ranks among major global beef buyers. Annual demand for this product exceeds 400,000 tonnes, with over 200,000 tonnes imported annually," head of the Agroexport federal center Ilya Ilyushin was quoted as saying.

According to ITC Trade Map data cited by Agroexport, the country's beef and by-products imports reached 219,000 tonnes in 2024, which were valued at $648 million.

Agroexport estimates Russia's annual beef export potential to the Philippines at approximately $10 million.

"Given import volumes and consumption growth potential, the Philippine market is interesting for Russian exporters. Per capita beef consumption currently remains low there, but will increase alongside economic growth and rising incomes, including demand for bovine meat.

"Competition in the Philippine market is intense, but any new market is important for Russian producers as an opportunity to diversify supplies and respond to shifts in demand," the head of the National Meat Association, Sergei Yushin, was quoted as saying. ■