Agri-fishery output rises slightly in Q3

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s agriculture and fisheries output expanded on an annual basis by 2.8 percent in the third quarter of the year, buoyed by higher crop and poultry production.

In its latest report, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the value of production in the sector, measured at constant 2018 prices, rose to P408.94 billion from last year’s level of P397.91 billion.

“This growth was driven by the increases in the value of crop and poultry production. However, the value of livestock and fisheries production contracted during the period,” the government’s data agency said.

Crop production, which accounted for more than half of total agricultural output at 53.3 percent, climbed by three percent to P218 billion.

The PSA said the increase was mainly driven by palay, which grew by 12.6 percent year-on-year.

Corn production, on the other hand, fell by 2.9 percent.

Livestock production slipped 1.9 percent to P60.51 billion, equivalent to 14.8 percent of total agri-fishery output.

The decline was largely attributed to lower hog production, which contracted by 1.4 percent.

Meanwhile, poultry production rose sharply by 10.6 percent to P75.96 billion, contributing 18.6 percent to the overall value of production.

The PSA reported increases across key subsectors, with chicken output up 12.4 percent and chicken eggs higher by 7.7 percent from the same quarter last year.

The fisheries sector, which made up 13.3 percent of total output, declined by 2.7 percent to P54.47 billion.

The third-quarter performance marked a rebound from the 1.6-percent contraction recorded in the previous quarter, when reduced livestock and crop output dragged down overall farm production.

Sought for comment, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. expressed optimism that the positive trend will continue for the rest of the year.

“We are heading in the right direction, it gets better every quarter. We had fairly good weather this year so it was helpful. It’s the livestock (sector) which caused problems,” Tiu Laurel said.

He cited lingering outbreaks of African swine fever and avian influenza as among the key challenges holding back recovery in the sector.