What documents do you need to export frozen pork to the Philippines?

Updated 11 October 2026 · 5 min read

The short answer

To export frozen pork to the Philippines you need an SPS import clearance that the Philippine importer gets before loading, a veterinary health certificate from your country's veterinary service on the model agreed with the Philippines, a commercial invoice, a packing list and a bill of lading, plus a certificate of origin when the buyer, the bank or a trade agreement asks for it. The pork must come from an eligible plant in an accepted country, and the cartons must be labelled. The product, quantity and plants on every document must agree with the clearance, because the Philippine inspectors check the documents against it on arrival.

The documents at a glance

When the ship arrives, the importer must give the Department of Agriculture's quarantine officer these originals: the SPS import clearance, the veterinary health certificate from the exporting country, the bill of lading, and the commercial invoice and packing list (Department Circular 14 of 2025, Section 31). A certificate of origin is added when it is requested, for example to claim a trade agreement rate (USDA FAIRS report, April 2026).

Document	Who issues it	When	What it is for
SPS import clearance	Bureau of Animal Industry, on the importer's application	Before loading; the exporter needs a copy	The permit for this one shipment, with its Must Ship Out By date (90 days for meat)
Veterinary health certificate	The exporting country's veterinary service	For this shipment, travels with the originals	Certifies the meat, on the model agreed with the Philippines
Commercial invoice	Exporter	At shipment	What was sold, to whom and at what price
Packing list	Exporter	At shipment	How the goods are packed: cartons, lots and weights
Bill of lading	Carrier	After loading	The carrier's receipt; its on-board date is the shipment date
Certificate of origin	Chamber of commerce or authority in the exporting country	When the buyer, the bank or a trade agreement asks	Where the goods come from

On top of the documents, every carton carries a label, and the meat inspectors read it.

Before anything ships: importer, country and plant

Three approvals sit behind the documents, and none of them can be arranged once the container is at sea.

The importer must be accredited for meat imports before it can apply for a clearance. The National Meat Inspection Service accredits meat importers (FAIRS 2026; BAI presentation, July 2025).
The country must be accepted for pork. The Bureau of Animal Industry accredits the whole inspection system of some countries, among them Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the UK. In others, such as Chile, Hungary, Italy and Portugal, it accredits selected plants only (BAI presentation, July 2025). An accredited country can still be under an import ban after a disease outbreak, so check the current orders.
The plant must be eligible. The Philippine meat import rules allow meat only from foreign plants that the Department of Agriculture accredits and the exporting country's veterinary service recognises (Administrative Order 39 of 2000, Section IV.A). Your veterinary service can tell you which plants may certify for the Philippines.

The health certificate

The exporting country's veterinary service issues the certificate on a model agreed with the Philippines, so its layout depends on where the pork comes from. Three current examples:

United States: FSIS Form 9060-5, the export certificate of wholesomeness, with the Philippine statements in its remarks. Since 19 May 2025 it is issued electronically (FSIS Notice 11-25).
Canada: the CFIA meat inspection certificate (CFIA/ACIA 1454) with Annex C, the veterinary certificate for pork and pork products (CFIA, page updated 17 July 2026).
United Kingdom: export health certificate 4835 for pork, lamb and goat meat (GOV.UK, updated 5 May 2026).

Elsewhere, ask your veterinary service for its certificate for the Philippines. Whatever the model, the certificate names the plants the meat comes from, and those plants must be eligible for the Philippines and listed on the SPS import clearance. See why every plant number must be on the SPS clearance and how to read a plant approval number.

Carton labels

Administrative Order 24 of 2010 lists what a label on imported meat must show: the trade or brand name, the exporter's name and address, the country of origin, lot identification, the product description, the net quantity, the dates of manufacture and packing, the best-before or expiry date, and storage instructions (FAIRS 2026). Since November 2021 a joint BAI and NMIS circular has suspended the strictest parts of these rules, and importers may correct labels after arrival. Canada's food agency also tells its exporters that labels naming another destination country are prohibited. Do not lean on the moratorium: label the cartons as the rules ask.

Temperature

Department Circular 14 says frozen meat must be kept at a product temperature no higher than 0 °C during handling, transport and storage. It treats soft meat, blood drips, and colour or smell changes as signs that the freezing temperature was not kept, in its guidelines for seizing imported meat at the port (Section 51). The usual reefer setting for frozen meat is much colder, -18 °C, which is the EU's rule for quick-frozen food.

Duty: the pork quota

Pork imported inside the minimum access volume (MAV), the Philippine import quota, pays a lower duty: 15% against the regular 25%, as reported when the 2026 quota opened. The importer needs a MAV certificate for that, valid for three months from issue (Philstar, 4 November 2025). In May 2026, Executive Order 116 raised the 2026 pork quota from 54,210 to 204,210 tonnes (Philstar, 23 May 2026). This is the importer's paperwork and the rules change often, so ask the buyer whether a shipment is meant to enter inside the quota.

A worked example

A made-up shipment: one 40-foot reefer of frozen pork cuts to Manila, 24,000 kg net, from a plant that is eligible for the Philippines. The importer, accredited for meat, gets a clearance on 2 February 2026 for up to 25,000 kg from that plant. Counting 90 days, its Must Ship Out By date is 3 May 2026. The exporting country's veterinary service issues the health certificate on its model for the Philippines, and the container goes on board on 24 April 2026: inside the window.

Had the booking rolled to 4 May, one day after the deadline, the clearance would have expired, and the confiscation procedure would apply unless the delay had an accepted cause, such as port congestion. For the six areas to look at before the originals are sent, see the export document checklist for a frozen container, and for the clearance itself, what the SPS import clearance is and how long it is valid.

Questions people ask

Does the exporter need an import permit to ship pork to the Philippines?

No. The Philippine importer applies for the SPS import clearance, and must be accredited for meat imports first. The exporter needs a copy of the clearance before loading, an eligible plant, and a health certificate on the model agreed with the Philippines.

Which health certificate is used for pork to the Philippines?

It depends on the exporting country. The United States uses FSIS Form 9060-5, Canada the CFIA 1454 certificate with Annex C for pork, and the United Kingdom certificate 4835. Other countries' veterinary services have their own model for the Philippines.

Is a certificate of origin required for pork to the Philippines?

Only when it is requested: by the buyer, by a letter of credit, or to claim a trade agreement rate at customs. The sanitary rules ask for the health certificate, not a certificate of origin.

Can the pork come from any plant in an accepted country?

No. The plant itself must be eligible for the Philippines, and every plant named on the documents must also be on the SPS import clearance. Your veterinary service knows which plants may certify for the Philippines.

What temperature must frozen pork be kept at for the Philippines?

Department Circular 14 of 2025 says frozen meat must be kept at a product temperature no higher than 0 °C during handling, transport and storage. It lists signs of thawing, such as soft meat or blood drips, in its guidelines for seizing imported meat at the port.