As the region braces for the potential impact of El Niño, the need to build more resilient food supply chains is becoming increasingly important.
In the Philippines, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported that El Niño has affected nearly 451,000 people nationwide, with agricultural losses and damage reaching PHP 6.5 million (USD103247.36). With El Niño conditions expected to persist into early 2027, according to weather agencies, food producers and agribusinesses face renewed pressure to anticipate risks to raw-material availability, production, and distribution.
October 16 is World Food Day and Aboitiz Foods, the regional food and agribusiness company, based in Manila, Philippines, underscores the importance of a proactive, mill-to-meal approach to help maintain a reliable food supply amid growing climate and market uncertainties.
Teddy Deocares, First Vice President for Supply Chain at Aboitiz Foods, said,
“Food security is not just about having enough food available today. We also need to consider how reliably we can produce and distribute food, and how we can withstand disruption and continue serving communities over time.
“That requires us to look ahead, understand potential risks, and work closely with our partners to maintain continuity across the supply chain.”
Preparing before disruption occurs
Extreme climate conditions, such as El Niño, are one of several external risks that can influence agricultural production, commodity availability, and the movement of goods across markets. For Aboitiz Foods, anticipating market developments, commodity trends, and shipping conditions is crucial to ensuring reliable operations. Operating across eight countries, the company is working with suppliers on advance arrangements where possible and coordinates with cross-functional teams to anticipate risks and align responses.
Deocares added,
“We are taking a proactive approach by monitoring developments early, planning our purchases and freight arrangements, and coordinating across our teams, so we can make more informed decisions and reduce avoidable disruption. We also look at how we can help customers respond to changing conditions.”
According to Deocares, the company’s preparation also involves assessing the availability of key ingredients, reviewing inventory needs for selected commodities, and managing operational requirements such as water availability and feed quality. These measures help the company maintain continuity while supporting customers whose own operations depend on a reliable supply of animal nutrition products.
From animal nutrition to food security. Feed production is a critical link in the food value chain. By anticipating potential disruptions to raw material supply and strengthening operational planning, Aboitiz Foods works to support continuity in animal nutrition amid climate-related and market uncertainties.
Looking beyond climate risks
Climate-related pressures are only one part of a volatile operating environment for food and agribusiness companies. Global disruptions, including the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, continue to drive up the cost of fuel, freight, and raw materials, creating additional pressure across agricultural and food supply chains.
In the Philippines, the challenges confronting local hog raisers emphasize a critical truth: building a reliable food system is rooted in the economics of food production. When farmgate prices fall below production costs, hog raisers face greater difficulty sustaining operations and reinvesting in their farms. Over time, this can affect the industry’s capacity to maintain and rebuild local supply.
For Deocares, these issues reinforce the need to consider the entire value chain rather than treating supply, production costs, and affordability as separate concerns. Deocares underscores,
“A resilient food system must work for consumers, farmers, and businesses to remain sustainable over the long term. Closer public-private collaboration is key to strengthening local production and supply chain agility, addressing the challenges faced by producers, and helping keep food accessible and affordable over the long term.”
Keeping food moving reliably, sustainably. Investments in local production and processing, combined with collaboration across the food value chain, help strengthen supply chain resilience. From producers and businesses to households, collective action is essential to keeping food moving and supporting a more reliable food supply.
Building a dependable supply chain
Alongside its operational preparedness measures, Aboitiz Foods continues to invest in capabilities that support more efficient production and distribution.
In the Philippines, the planned Pilmico feedmill at West Cebu Estate in Balamban, Cebu, is expected to boost production capacity and complement the company’s existing feedmill in Iligan City, which serves customers across the Visayas and Mindanao. This new facility aims to provide greater flexibility within Aboitiz Foods’ Philippine food manufacturing network.
Across its markets, Aboitiz Foods is increasing safety stock levels for selected commodities to manage potential supply disruptions, improving its facilities to handle dry conditions, and providing technical support to its customers whose livestock productivity may be affected by changing weather patterns.
These initiatives strengthen the company’s ability to serve customers and deliver value across different markets. For Aboitiz Foods, businesses, suppliers, producers, the government, and consumers all have a role in building a food system that can better withstand changing conditions.
“Even at the household level, simple practices such as reducing food waste, using food and water responsibly, and avoiding unnecessary stockpiling can make a difference. Collectively, they contribute to how responsibly we manage our food resources,”
said Deocares.
“That same sense of responsibility needs to extend across the entire food value chain. Ultimately, a resilient food system requires everyone to do their part—from how we consume food in our homes to how we produce, process, and distribute it across the region.”
Building a resilient food system requires anticipating risks, preparing for uncertainty, and reinforcing collaborations across the value chain to keep food moving, even amid disruptions. Through its integrated operations and partnerships across Asia, and by proactively managing potential risks to its business, Aboitiz Foods continues to strengthen and is committed to delivering lasting value to customers and consumers, supporting a more reliable food supply, and sustainably feeding Asia’s growth from mill to meal.
Aboitiz Foods is the integrated regional food and agribusiness company of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. Driven by its massive transformative purpose, “Sustainably Feeding Asia’s Growth from Mill to Meal,” the company is committed to sustainable growth alongside Asia’s evolving needs. As one of Asia’s largest privately owned food and agribusiness companies, Aboitiz Foods operates in eight countries: the Philippines, Singapore, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Brunei. Through its subsidiaries, Pilmico and Gold Coin, Aboitiz Foods integrates the value chain, including trading, feeds, specialty nutrition, and food. By leveraging world-class technology and expertise, Aboitiz Foods delivers quality products and services to its customers.
