AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT increased by an annual 1.9% during the initial quarter, as favorable weather conditions contributed to enhanced crops, fisheries, and poultry production, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Figures from the PSA indicated that the worth of agriculture and fisheries production escalated by 1.9% in the January-to-March timeframe to P437.74 billion, surpassing the 0.2% rise in the first quarter of 2024.
This reflected a recovery from the adjusted 2% downturn in the fourth quarter, concluding three quarters of shrinkage.
“The worth of crops, poultry, and fisheries production showed improvements, whereas livestock continued to decline throughout the quarter,” stated the PSA in a report, referencing constant 2018 prices.
At current prices, the production value in agriculture and fisheries increased by 2.3% in the first quarter to P623.66 billion.
“We are hopeful that the recovery in the first quarter signifies momentum for the latter half of the year — particularly as we activate new infrastructure such as cold storage facilities and rice processing systems,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. expressed in a statement.
Nevertheless, former Agriculture Undersecretary Fermin D. Adriano remarked that the first-quarter agricultural output was “anticipated.”
“(This adheres to the) typical pattern of agri performance for the first quarter of the year considering the absence of typhoons and extreme weather phenomena… The harvest period extends in the first quarter of the year. Anticipate the second quarter, which is the planting (lean supply) phase for rice, where extreme heat impacts water supply for irrigation,” he noted in a Viber message.
Crop production, which constituted 57% of the total, saw a rise of 1% to P249.61 billion during the January-to-March period. This marked a recovery from the 0.3% decline experienced in the same timeframe last year.
Palay or unmilled rice production improved by 0.3%, a betterment from the 2% contraction noted a year prior.
The volume of palay production reached 4.7 million metric tons (MMT) in the period ending March, up from 4.69 million MMT in the same timeframe last year.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) reported that yield achieved a record high of 4.09 MT per hectare, compensating for the decline in rice-planted areas. It aims for a record palay output of 20.46 MMT this year.
PSA information demonstrated that corn production fell by 5.1% in the first quarter, contrasting the 0.5% growth seen last year.
Coconut production shrank by 0.3%, slower than the 3.3% decline in the same quarter of 2024.
Crops that experienced a two-digit rise in output value include tobacco (80.4%), cacao (23.6%), sugarcane (19%), rubber (13.6%), coffee (10.7%), and mongo (10.1%).
Conversely, production value decreased for abaca (15.4%), sweet potato (9.4%), mango (7.5%), cabbage (6.4%), and calamansi (0.8%).
PSA data indicated that the poultry sector experienced a growth of 9.4% to P75.22 billion, contributing 17.2% to total farm production.
The value of chicken egg production increased by 12.1%, while chicken production grew by 8.7% and duck production by 1.5%.
Conversely, duck egg production decreased by 2.2% in the first quarter.
“We can observe a slight shift in consumer preferences towards the poultry sector as a source of food protein due to rising meat prices, particularly for hogs,” commented Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc. President Danilo V. Fausto in a Viber message.
“This is reflected in the robust performance of chicken and egg production and a downturn in the growth of the hog sector,” he added.
However, Mr. Fausto warned that the local poultry industry may encounter challenges if imports from the US increase.
“The poultry sector will face obstacles, especially if the US requires the entry of more chicken into the country as a bargaining strategy to reassess the tariffs imposed by Trump on Philippine exports to the US,” he asserted.
DECLINE IN LIVESTOCK
Meanwhile, the worth of livestock production continued to fall in the first quarter.
PSA information revealed that livestock output decreased by 2.8% to P57.82 billion in the period ending March, although the rate of decline was slower than 3.5% in the same quarter last year. This represented 13.2% of the overall farm output.
Hog production tumbled by 3.7% in the first quarter, while carabao output reduced by 0.2%.
Nevertheless, an uptick in production was noted in dairy (10.5%), cattle (1.3%), and goat (1.2%).
“Livestock contraction is anticipated as the previously promoted ASF (African Swine Fever) vaccine from the DA has been ineffective with little uptake by hog raisers,” Mr. Adriano commented.
The DA mentioned in March that it was expecting Food and Drug Administration approval by April for the commercial distribution of ASF vaccines from Vietnam.
“Hopefully, we could commence later this year the commercial rollout of the much-awaited ASF vaccine, which will help initiate a large-scale hog repopulation effort by the DA,” Mr. Laurel remarked.
Bureau of Animal Industry statistics as of April 11 indicated that ASF had been detected in 54 villages, rising from 39 as of March 14.
Simultaneously, fishery production experienced a 1.5% increase to P55.1 billion in the first quarter, accounting for 12.6% of the total output. This represented an improvement from the 0.2% decline in the same period of 2024.
Milkfish (bangus) production rose by 7.8%, while tilapia saw a slight increase of 2.2%.
Double-digit growth was recorded for slipmouth or sapsap (21%), mudcrab or alimango (20%), Indian mackerel or alumahan (14.5%), and blue crab or alimasag (12.1%).
However, declines were noted for fimbriated sardines or tunsoy (34.5%), roundscad or galunggong (14.7%), cavalla or talakitok (12.7%), and bigeye tuna or tambakol (11.2%).
Raul Q. Montemayor from the Federation of Free Farmers stated that the agriculture sector still needs to catch up significantly, especially following last year’s output decline.
In 2024, farm output fell by 2.2%, largely due to the El Niño weather phenomenon, which inflicted an estimated P15 billion in damage to local agriculture. — K.A.T.Atienza