Agriculture production value in the country dropped 1.3 percent in the second quarter of the year pulled down by fisheries which declined 14.2 percent during the period, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.
At constant 2018 prices, the growth was equivalent to a value of P427.69 billion in the second quarter of the year.
In the first six months of the year, the value of production in agriculture and fisheries at constant 2018 prices is equivalent to a 0.4 percent increase.
The fisheries subsector was the only variable that recorded a drop in the second quarter, down 14.2 percent in value of production at constant 2018 prices for the period. It contributed P58.81 billion or 13.8 percent of the total agricultural output.
Production declines were observed for bigeye tuna, skipjack, fimbriated sardines, grouper, yellowfin tuna, sapsap, milkfish, blue crab, squid, mud crab, frigate tuna, bisugo, alumahan, tilapia, talakitok, tamban, matangbaka and seaweed.
At current prices, the subsector grossed P83.87 billion, down 10.5 percent from last year’s gross earnings for the period.
In the first half, the fisheries subsector’s value posted a 7.7 percent contraction.
The livestock subsector, which contributed 14.8 percent or P63.50 billion of the total value of agricultural production at constant 2018 prices, experienced the smallest increase in value at 0.7 percent.
Only hog and carabao recorded increases in the sector while dairy, cattle and goat posted contractions.
At current prices, the value of livestock production amounted to P90.44 billion, down by 4.2 percent from the same period last year.
In the first half of the year, the livestock subsector’s production value was up 2.4 percent.
Crops subsector’s value of production grew 1.2 percent, equivalent to P240.83 billion and accounted for 56.3 percent or more than half of the total value of production of the country’s agriculture and fisheries.
Increases in production were registered for palay at 1.1 percent to 4.25 million metric tons (MT) from 4.2 million MT but corn went down by 0.8 percent to 1.47 million MT from 1.48 million MT.
Other crops that experienced growth for the period include mango, cacao, calamansi, pineapple, onion, ampalaya, potato, tobacco, coffee, cassava, coconut and banana.
However, declines in production were recorded for sugarcane, rubber, sweet potato, cabbage, eggplant, mongo, abaca and tomato.
At current prices, the subsector grossed P289.79 billion, 9.2 percent higher than last year’s gross receipts.
For the first six months of 2023, the crops subsector’s value was up by 1.5 percent.
The poultry subsector’s production at P64.54 billion was higher by 1.5 percent at constant 2018 prices for the quarter which accounts for 15.1 percent of total agricultural output.
The performance of the subsector was pushed by growths in the production of chicken and duck despite declines from chicken and duck eggs for the period.
The value of poultry production also went up by 9.5 percent to P87.41 billion at current prices.
For the first six months of the year, the poultry subsector’s value also increased by 2.3 percent.
Overall, the value of the country’s entire agricultural production at current prices also went up by 3.4 percent to P551.50 billion.
