Briefer on Carabao Meat and Milk Production
There are around 2.71 million carabaos in the Philippines as of the beginning of 2024. Ninety-nine percent of these animals are tended by smallholder farmers. Furthermore, dairy animals comprise 1% of the inventory, while 17% were allocated for meat consumption and the rest were assumed to be maintained by farmers for draft power purposes. There has been a decline in carabao population since 2017, albeit insignificant, due to decreasing annual animals born while slaughter remains its momentum at around 450,000 heads.
While PSA data shows a marginally diminishing carabaos born annually, the PCC, focusing on producing genetically superior buffaloes for dairy production, asserts a positive trend instead in calf production per its consolidated administrative data. Per PCC records, genetically improved calves produced have been consistently increasing since 2016 closing its 2023 production at 30,844 heads. Mechanization persists as a challenge in farmer’s decisions on whether they should keep or propagate their carabaos. Consequently, when farmers are facing financial difficulties and need cash, their carabao serves as their financial saving grace.
The PCC, in keeping with its mandate to conserve, propagate, and promote the carabao as a source of milk, meat, hide, and draft power, is currently attempting to utilize locally produced sex sorted semen to increase the probability of producing female calves from 50% to 90% to increase the breedable animal population and therefore, accelerate genetically superior herd build-up. The goal is to reverse the current population trend and hence, for the annual carabao inventory to show an upward trajectory starting 2025 onwards.
Meanwhile, in terms of live weight in kilograms, there has been a 1% average annual decline in volume of carabao production for meat. On the other hand, farmgate price per kilo of live weight has been increasing in the last 5 years closing at P149.41 in 2023 which is 13.5% higher than the previous year’s price. The increase in price implies a positive demand shift vis-à-vis the limited supply available.
Another economically remarkable outcome of PCC’s genetic improvement program is the production of male buffaloes from dairy operations. The female carabao is automatically being kept at the dairy herd to serve as replacement heifer. However, when the herd produces male calves, this presents an opportunity we call the BEEF ON DAIRY. These male calves are to be fattened for meat purposes and since they are dairy crossbreds, they have higher carcass yield and better meat quality. The PCC have named this premium meat – “Kardeli” with a trademark registered at the IPO Philippines. The Kardeli aims to package and promote the carabeef as a premium meat brand good for steak and other choice meat products. It complements the Dairy Box – PCC’s business package for dairy value added products for dairy cooperatives and associations and both were already commercialized successfully by several PCC assisted cooperatives and associations all over the Philippines.
Another promising statistic is the number of dairy carabaos which had shown a dramatic jump in the last 3 years increasing by almost 4.5 times between 2021’s 17,902 heads and 2024’s 80,805 heads. Exhibiting this trend, it is expected that the dairy carabaos will be able to improve its contribution to local milk production.
Shifting focus on the dairy industry, the total volume of local milk production has been going up, closing at 29.10 million liters in 2023. However, this was able to serve only 1.5% of the country’s total milk demand. Milk sufficiency is definitely a major area of improvement and PCC maintains its role in helping the National Dairy Authority perform its mandate of accelerating local milk production.
The PCC captured carabao milk production has been steadily recovering since a sudden dip during the year of pandemic posting 4.62 million liters by the end of 2023. Meanwhile, the PSA’s national carabao milk production estimate showed a significant drop in 2023 which was attributed to timing difference in reporting between PCC and PSA and will be adjusted accordingly in 2025. The expected scenario is for the national estimate to follow the increasing trend in milk reported by PCC.
Average farmgate price for carabao’s milk closed at 85 pesos with price ranging from 60 to as much as 140 pesos per liter particularly during milk feeding season where demand for carabao’s milk is at its peak.
For its projection, the PCC aims to continually increase its annual calf production from around 33,000 heads in 2024 to as high as 103,311 heads in 2030. This will be possible through the following interventions:
- by increasing our diffusion rate from around 17% in 2024 to 20% in 2025 and an additional 3%-point increase annually thereafter;
- by gradually increasing our conception rate from 35% in 2025 to 45% in 2030; and
- through the utilization of sex sorted semen in 2025 directed to produce more female calves, the breedable females will increase by 2027 which subsequently will enhance herd build-up and thus, milk.
For this to happen, aside from sex sorted semen, other mechanisms have to be in place such as calf incentives both for the AI technician and the farmer, higher funding for both the AI and bull entrustment programs, and better reproduction technologies.
Considering this calf production and assuming that there will not be a significant increase in animal slaughter, we are expecting to shift the trend of annual carabao population from a currently declining trend to an upward trajectory reaching 2,972,698 heads in 2030 which will be the highest inventory level since 2012.
