Farm sector grew 0.5% in second quarter

August 5, 2020

Agriculture managed to grow by 0.5 percent in the second quarter, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday.

Production in crops and fisheries recorded increases while livestock and poultry posted declines.

Crops production grew five percent. It shared 53.7 percent in the total agricultural output. Production went up for palay by 7.1 percent and corn by 15.4 percent.

Livestock production, which accounted for 17.3 percent of the total agricultural output, contracted by 8.5 percent. Hog production declined by 5.2 percent.

Poultry output decreased by 4.7 percent. It contributed 13 percent to the total agricultural production. Production was down for chicken by 7.8 percent.

Fisheries production grew by 0.9 percent, and it shared 16.0 percent in the total agricultural output. Major fish species such as Bali sardinella, skipjack, and roundscad posted output increments at 45.7 percent, 19.6 percent, and 18.6 percent, respectively.

At current prices, the value of agricultural production amounted to P439.8 billion. This was 4.6 percent higher than the previous year’s level.