The World Trade Center in Pasay City will host the country's premier trade event for the Philippine livestock, poultry, and aquaculture industries from 22 May to 24 May, which will be open to the public.

With the theme “Harnessing Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Farm Development,” this year’s edition of Livestock Philippines and Aquaculture Philippines aims to bridge the activities of public and private sectors, to establish business opportunities for manufacturers and suppliers with potential distributors, partners, and buyers, and create an environment of knowledge and expertise sharing.

“The livestock and aquaculture subsectors of the country’s agriculture industry are pivotal growth drivers of the economy and a generator of jobs. And by bringing together the actors and stakeholders in those sub sectors through Livestock Philippines and Aquaculture Philippines, we can level up the production and efficiency of those subsectors to become major drivers of economic growth and poverty reduction,” said Rungphech Chitanuwat, country general manager of Informa Markets in the Philippines.

This year’s Livestock Philippines and Aquaculture Philippines will feature at least 250 exhibitors and more than 10,000 visitors are expected to troop to the three-day event.

Visitors from at least 30 countries are anticipated to attend the trade show, making it international in scope.

Furthermore, the ongoing success of the events is attributed to the valuable support from partner industry associations.

They pose strong collaboration by bringing in industry experts to discuss topics and potential buyers seeking products and technology.

The Department of Agriculture fully endorses Livestock Philippines and its efforts to highlight innovation and technology. These elements are crucial in assisting local farmers and fisherfolks to enhance agricultural production cost-effectively, boost profitability, and secure food sustainability.

Key Show Highlights

Before the three-day event in May, the Livestock Philippines and Aquaculture Philippines organizers conduct provincial roadshows in Pampanga, Batangas, and Cebu.

These roadshows aim to engage with the community and bring together practitioners and stakeholders for an educational seminar that would be beneficial for all involved. The team will continue the last leg of the roadshow in the aquaculture and swine sectors in Pampanga from 8 to 9 May.

Livestock Philippines is also expected to host its first ASEAN Associations Roundtable involving industry associations, particularly for swine and poultry sectors from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

This year also marks the return of the Livestock Awards, recognizing the remarkable and substantial contributions made by select individuals, groups, associations, cooperatives, or private companies to the development of the agriculture sector.

According to statistics from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), livestock production in the country saw a growth of 2.7 percent in the final quarter of 2023, reaching P71.1 billion.

Concurrently, poultry production rose by 7.8 percent, totaling P67.65 billion. Contrastingly, domestic aquaculture was the sole subsector within the fishery industry that demonstrated growth in 2023, increasing by 1.5 percent annually to 2.38 million metric tons. The PSA highlighted that aquaculture accounted for the largest share, comprising 56 percent of the total fisheries production in 2023.