Agriculture output growth slows in Q3
Growth of farm production eased last quarter from the preceding three months and a year ago as crops’ and livestock’s slower annual expansion and a smaller fisheries output offset an acceleration in poultry’s increase, according to data the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released on Wednesday.
Value of farm output growth slowed to 2.32 percent last quarter from 3.0 percent a year ago that was revised slightly upward from a preliminary 2.98 percent estimate.
Third-quarter growth was also the slowest in three quarters, with the first and the second quarters clocking 5.28 percent and 6.18 percent, respectively, while 2016’s fourth quarter saw a 1.11 percent contraction. By sub-sector:
• crops — which accounted for 46.89 percent of the total value of farm output last quarter — grew by 5.18 percent, slower than the year-ago 5.22 percent;
• livestock — which contributed 18.37 percent — edged up a nearly flat 0.91 percent compared to the year-ago 4.03 percent;
• poultry — which contributed 17.34 percent — picked up by 3.41 percent from 2.52 percent;
• while fisheries — which made up 17.39 percent — fell by 4.27 percent, steeper than the past year’s -2.58 percent.
Rolando T. Dy, executive director of the University of Asia & the Pacific’s Center for Food and AgriBusiness, said the crops sub-sector remained a key driver notwithstanding a weaker year-on-year performance.
“Rice remained robust, but corn production turned negative from high positive,” Mr. Dy said in an e-mail on Wednesday.
In terms of volume of production, palay — which had the single biggest commodity contribution to total value of farm output at 17.01 percent — increased by 14.17 percent (compared to the year-ago 16.35 percent) to 3.39 million metric tons (MT) from 2.97 million MT in 2016’s comparable three months. “This was attributed to the increase in harvest areas because of early occurrence of rains and availability of water during the planting period in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Western Visayas and Soccskargen (South Cotabato-CotabatoSultan Kudarat-SaranganiGeneral Santos City),” the PSA report read.
Corn, however, which had the fourth-biggest contribution to total value at 8.83 percent, fell 2.74 percent (compared to the year-ago 10.61 percent growth) to 2.59 million MT from 2.662 million MT a year ago.
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(Bworldonline.