Agriculture grew by1.47 percent in the first quarter of 2018. Contributing to the sector’s performance were the production gains in the crops, livestock and poultry subsectors. At current prices, gross value of agricultural production amounted toPhP 444.0 billion. This was8.94 percent higher than last year’s earnings.

The crops subsector which contributed53.76 percent to total agricultural output went up by1.79 percent. Palay and corn posted production increases of4.61 percent and4.66 percent, respectively. Improvements in production were also noted among the major crops such as coconut, banana, pineapple, tobacco, abaca, peanut, mongo, tomato, eggplant and rubber. The subsector grossedPhP 252.2 billion at current prices, up by8.24 percent from previous year’s record.

The livestock subsector registered a2.11 percent growth in output. It shared16.96 percent in the total agricultural production. Hog, the major growth driver, increased by2.39 percent. The gross value of livestock production amounted toPhP 75.5 billion at current prices which was15.46 percent more than last year’s record.

In the poultry subsector, production expanded by5.24 percent. It accounted for15.93 percent of the total agricultural output. Chicken and chicken eggs contributed to the subsector’s positive performance with respective growths of4.93 percent and7.42 percent. At current prices, the subsector’s gross earnings amounted toPhP 57.5 billion, or8.53 percent higher than the previous year’s level. 

Production in the fisheries subsector declined by4.61 percent. The subsector contributed13.36 percent to the total agricultural output. Except for skipjack and seaweed, all the major species recorded lower production levels. The subsector grossedPhP 58.8 billion. This represented a4.63 percent improvement compared to last year’s gross earnings.

On the average, farmgate prices went up by7.36 percent during the first quarter of 2018. Price uptrends were recorded in all subsectors; crops at6.33 percent, livestock at13.07 percent, poultry at3.13 percent, and fisheries at9.68 percent.