Leyte biggest swine producer in E. Visayas
TACLOBAN CITY – Leyte province is the top swine producer in Eastern Visayas.
Wilma Perante, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Regional Statistical Service Office director, told Manila Bulletin that Leyte recorded the highest number of swine at 168,381 heads, more than half of the region’s swine population.
Perante said the swine industry in Eastern Visayas grew by 9.0 percent during the second quarter of 2018. “Based on the preliminary data, the total swine production in the region went up to 18,316 metric tons (MT) during the quarter in review from16,802 MT in the same quarter last year,” he said.
The region accounted for 3.3 percent of the country’s total swine production during that period. It ranked fifth among the regions with low swine production in the country.
Perante said that as of last July, the swine population in Eastern Visayas stood at 321,346 heads, less than one percent higher than 320,775 heads last year.
Northern Samar ranked second in the region with 46,594 heads, or 14.5 percent of the region’s swine inventory. Biliran had the lowest inventory with 12,109 heads or 3.8 percent.
By farm type, hogs raised in commercial farms stood at 11,636 heads as of July, down by 14.7 percent from last year.
All provinces registered decreases, except Samar, which posted an increase of 541.4 percent to 930 heads. Southern Leyte had the biggest decline at 35.3 percent.
The number of swine raised in backyard farms rose slightly by 0.8 percent to 309,710 heads.
Almost all or 96.4 percent of the swine population in the region were raised in backyard farms while the rest (3.6 percent) were in commercial farms, the source said.