CROP OUTPUT in the second quarter fell 0.9% year on year to 17.88 million metric tons (MT), the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
In a report, the PSA said leading the decline were corn, sugarcane, rubber, and sweet potato.
Corn production fell 0.8% to 1.47 million MT, while sugarcane output dropped 11.3% to 2.83 million MT. Rubber volumes fell 8.5% to 112.59 thousand MT, and sweet potato output declined 7.5% to 151.65 thousand MT.
Fisheries output declined 11.5% during the quarter to 1.08 million MT, led by skipjack (gulyasan), which recorded a 49.2% decline in output. Milkfish (bangus) production fell 19.1%, while that of seaweed dropped 4.9%, Output of fimbriated sardines (tamban) fell 42.2%, and that of yellowfin tuna declined 23.2%.
Meanwhile, livestock and poultry production rose 0.6% and 1.5%, respectively for the quarter.
Livestock production hit 540.46 thousand MT, led by hogs, which recorded a rise of 1% year on year to 422.72 thousand MT.
Poultry production rose 1.5% to 680.5 thousand MT, led by chicken.
“Chicken output, with a 70.2% share of total volume of poultry production, grew 3.2%,” the PSA added. — Adrian H. Halili
