{
  "id": 1519033,
  "title": "Dairy imports grow 2% in first semester",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/dairy-imports-grow-2-in-first-semester",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-17T16:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Philippine Star Business",
    "slug": "philippine-star-business",
    "url": "https://www.philstar.com/business/2026/08/18/2549933/dairy-imports-grow-2-first-semester"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "MANILA, Philippines — The National Dairy Authority (NDA) reported that Philippines' dairy imports rose by two percent to 1.76 million metric tons liquid milk equivalent (MT-LME) during the first half of 2026. This represented a seven percent increase in dollar terms from the previous year's P43.26 billion. Imported dairy products continued to fulfill 98.58 percent of the total supply, while local production only contributed about 1.42 percent.\n\nSkim milk powder (SMP) saw the biggest growth in imports, increasing by five percent to 713,270 MT-LME. Ready-to-drink liquid milk imports also surged by 21 percent to 66,650 MT-LME. Other milk imports in powder form decreased by 6.5 percent to 269,940 MT-LME. The NDA highlighted the persistent dependency on imports, citing a significant disparity between domestic production and the country's dairy needs. The agency pledged to bolster its efforts in building its dairy herd, improving animal productivity, enhancing farming systems, and expanding the dairy value chain infrastructure.",
  "summary": "The country’s dairy imports increased by two percent to over 1.7 million metric tons in liquid milk equivalent in the first half of 2026, according to the National Dairy Authority.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}