THE Philippine agriculture sector was unable to sustain the output growth in the first three months of the year as production contracted in the second quarter due to a lower fisheries yield, government data released on Wednesday, Aug. 9, showed.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the value of production in agriculture and fisheries contracted by 1.3% in the second quarter, following the 2.1% growth in the first quarter.
The PSA attributed the latest contraction to the 14.2% drop in fisheries output, with double-digit declines seen in bigeye tuna (tambakol/bariles) down 49.9%, skipjack (gulyasan) down 49.2%, fimbriated sardines (tunsoy) down 42.2%, grouper (lapu-lapu) down 39.9%, and yellowfin tuna (tambakol/bariles) down 23.2%.
Declines were also seen in slipmouth (sapsap) down 20.6%, milkfish (bangus) down 19.1%, blue crab (alimasag) down 19.1%, squid (pusit) down 17.4%, mudcrab (alimango) down 15.5%, frigate tuna (tulingan) down 14.5%, and threadfin bream (bisugo) down 12.0%.
As a total subsector, crop production expanded by 1.2%, with the biggest jumps seen in mango (11.4%), cacao (4.1%), calamansi (4.0%), pineapple (3.8%), and onion (3.4%).
Declines were reported in sugarcane (-11.3%), rubber (-8.5%), sweet potato (-7.5%), cabbage (-4.5%), eggplant (-3.6%), mongo (-1.9%), abaca (-1.8%), tomato (-1.8%), and corn (-0.8%).
Livestock production rose by 0.7%, with slight gains reported in hog (1.0%), carabao (0.5%), and contractions posted in dairy (-10.0%), cattle (-1.0%), and goat (-0.2%).
Poultry output climbed 1.5%, with chicken up 3.2% and duck up 7.1%. The production of eggs, however, dropped with chicken down 2.1%, and duck by 8.6%.
The country’s agriculture sector — currently led by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as concurrent Agriculture secretary — has posted a contraction in the past three years. (GMA Integrated News)
