Duck Marketing in the Philippines: Issues and Opportunities

This paper provides an overview of the duck marketing system in the Philippines, identifies key marketing issues, and suggests possible remedies to improve marketing efficiency. One of the key findings is that the duck marketing system is fragmented and inefficient. The main contributing factors are: a long and multi-layered marketing chain involving a large number of small players; the absence of formal product standard and grading system; and an inadequate marketing infrastructure. The inefficient marketing system has resulted in higher costs and lower product quality and ultimately a stagnated demand. Another finding is that many of the marketing problems, on close examination, are in fact a manifestation of market imperfection and a reflection of an under-regulated marketing system. The future prospects of the Philippine duck industry will depend on its ability to meet changing consumer demand more effectively than competing products in the long term. Policy recommendations to the industry and the government decision makers include: more market research on future consumer demand for duck products and on new product development; development of formal product standards and grading systems; and provision of market information.