Farm output up, but value down in Q3

Philippine agricultural output rose in the third quarter of the year although prices of crops and livestock were dampened by the initial implementation of the rice tariffication law and the spread of the African swine fever (ASF).

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the sector grew by 2.87 percent during the period, bringing growth in the first nine months to 0.75 percent.

“This is a much better performance,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said in a statement on Wednesday.

“We were expecting between 2 percent and 2.5 percent. This shows that farmers and fishers are showing resilient performance with the programs and projects of the DA,” Dar added.

Despite the rise in volume of production, however, total value fell to P395.3 billion, lower by 3.35 percent and 6.9 percent from year-ago and quarter-ago levels, respectively.

Much of the decline were attributed to the continuous fall in the farm gate price of palay, which fell by 29.82 percent following the implementation of the rice law.

The policy’s enactment gave way to the unimpeded importation of more affordable rice at a time when local producers have yet to be properly assisted by the government to transition to the tariff regime.

Palay production was also down by 4.53 percent following “substantial reduction in harvested areas in Western Visayas and Soccsksargen due to insufficient water supply.”

The PSA said the same reason was cited for decreases in harvest areas in regions like Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula and Caraga.

The corn subsector recovered from the previous year’s production decline with a 23.47-percent increase in output. This pulled up the performance of the crop sector.

Crops accounted for 45.19 percent of total farm output with a value of P199.6 billion, which was lower by 7.07 percent from last quarter and 6.75 percent from last year.

The livestock sector, which is currently suffering from the outbreaks of ASF in certain parts of Luzon, was still able to show uptrends in production for both hogs and dairy at 1.96 percent and 6.48 percent, respectively.

At current prices, its value dropped by 6.49 percent to P70.1 billion from P74.7 billion a year ago as farm gate prices continued to be hurt by the ongoing ASF scare. Hog prices posted an 8.7-percent decline.

The ASF disease is harmful to pigs but not to humans. To contain it, several local government units have banned the movement and sale of both live hogs and processed meat products from ASF-affected areas.