By Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel
THE PHILIPPINES’ agricultural production grew by 2.8% in the third quarter, as strong crops and poultry output offset the decline in livestock and fisheries, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
Data from the PSA showed the value of agriculture and fisheries production rose by 2.8% to P408.94 billion in the July-to-September period, a turnaround from the 3.6% contraction in the same period last year.
Quarter on quarter, farm output growth slowed from the eight-year high of 5.7%.
“This growth was driven by the increase in the value of crop and poultry production. However, the value of livestock and fisheries production contracted during the period,” the PSA said, citing constant 2018 prices.
At current prices, the value of production in agriculture and fisheries rose to P533.16 billion, lower than the previous quarter’s output of P606.86 billion.
In the first nine months, agricultural output averaged 3.5%, a turnaround from the -2.2% in the same period last year.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. told reporters that the agriculture sector is “heading in the right direction.” He expressed confidence the sector will recover from last year’s 2.2% decline, which reflected the impact of El Niño and several typhoons.
Crops output, which accounted for 53.3% of the total value of agricultural production, jumped by 3% to P218 billion in the third quarter. This was a turnaround from the 5.2% decline in the same period last year.
In the first nine months, crop production growth averaged 5%, improving from the 4.7% decline in the same period last year.
Former Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar told BusinessWorld via Viber that crop production rose in the third quarter despite inclement weather due to an “increase in hectarage of rice, ability to bounce back to production, and distribution of agricultural inputs and machineries.”
Palay (unmilled rice) production rose 12.6%, rebounding from the 12.3% contraction a year ago. This increase in output was aided by a 15.7% increase in the land planted to rice.
Palay output rose by an average of 8.3% in the January-to-September period, a turnaround from the 7.7% decline last year.
PSA data showed corn production declined 2.9%, worse than last year’s decline of 0.6% in the same period.
Coconut registered a 2.1% drop, an improvement from a decrease of 3.5% last year.
Crops that saw a double-digit increase in the value of output include onion (77.3%), potato (47.8%), sugarcane (42.0%), coffee (25.9%), mongo (16.9%), tobacco (15.7%), and cabbage (13.3%).
On the other hand, the value of production contracted for abaca (15.4%) and sweet potato (11.4%).
Meanwhile, the poultry sector grew by an annual 10.6% to P75.96 billion in the third quarter, despite the threat of avian influenza. It accounted for 18.6% of total farm production during the period.
In the first nine months, the growth of poultry production averaged 9.1%, an improvement from the 6.8% growth recorded in the same period last year.
Chicken production recorded an annual gain of 12.4% by value, while chicken eggs and duck posted 7.7% and 0.6% growth, respectively.
Duck eggs, on the other hand, declined by 4.3% this quarter, slightly better than a 5.7% drop in the same period last year.
“Poultry is expected to continue to grow due to the presence of multinational companies engaged in poultry production who have the financial capital to address the biosecurity issues,” Danilo V. Fausto, president of the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc. (PCAFI), told BusinessWorld via Viber.
LIVESTOCK, FISHERIES SLIPMeanwhile, the value of livestock production declined by 1.9% in the third quarter, a slight improvement from the 6.7% contraction a year ago. It contributed P60.51 billion, accounting for 14.8% of the total value of agricultural production.
From January to September, livestock production contracted by 3.5%, unchanged from last year.
Dairy was the lone bright spot in the livestock sector, recording a significant 34.7% increase in output from 13.2% a year ago.
The hog sector declined by 1.4%, improving from the 8% contraction a year ago.
Carabao recorded the biggest decrease in production value at 9%, followed by goat at 7.7%. Cattle also slumped by 2.7%.
Mr. Dar also said that there is a need for interventions to address the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF), which continues to affect the hog sector.
“We need an all-society approach to put in place sustained and systematic measures to prevent the spread of ASF. There is a need to use a well-studied and developed vaccine against ASF undergoing biosafety regulations,” Mr. Dar said.
On the other hand, fisheries production fell by 2.7% to P54.47 billion in the third quarter, accounting for 13.3% of the total output. This was a slight improvement from the 4.7% decline in the third quarter of 2024.
For the first nine months, fisheries output dipped by 1.9%, worse than last year’s 0.8% drop.
Double-digit decline was seen for cavalla (talakitok, 20.3%), Bali sardinella (tamban, 13.3%), tiger prawn (sugpo, 11.6%), and P. Vannamei (10.8%).
The value of seaweed production also dropped by 15.7% in the third quarter.
Significant declines were also recorded for milkfish (bangus, 9.7%), mudcrab (alimango, 9.1%), slipmouth (sapsap, 7.4%), threadfin bream (bisugo, 6.7%), and roundscad (galunggong, 5.6%).
Double-digit growth was seen for bigeye tuna (tambakol/bariles, 52.8%), squid (22.6%), and skipjack (gulyasan, 15.9%).
More modest gains were recorded for grouper (lapu-lapu, 4.9%), tilapia (3.1%), yellowfin tuna (tambakol/bariles, 2.4%), frigate tuna (tulingan, 1.2%), and blue crab (alimasag, 1.2%).
Aside from extreme weather events, the closure of fishing season in some areas due to the degradation of fishery ecosystems and habitat likely contributed to the decline, according to Mr. Dar.
“We are a nation of islands where fisheries are perceived to be the competitive advantage of the country. More attention should be given to the fisheries sector to include intervention in the hatchery and fingerlings production, cold chain and storage, ice plants and supply logistics,” PCAFI’s Mr. Fausto said.