May 19, 2010

The Philippine agriculture sector shrank by 2.8% in Q1 2010 due to the prolonged drought whereas the livestock sector reports modest gains for the same period.

The livestock and poultry sub-sectors managed to post modest gains in the first quarter of the year despite the onslaught of El Niño on key food-producing areas in the country, reports local news.

The livestock sub-sector grew by a modest 0.5% in the first three months of 2010, as production increases were recorded for pigs, goat and cattle, while dairy posted a hefty 17.2% output gain.

The poultry sub-sector expanded 2% on the back of increases in the chicken meat and egg sectors of 1.8% and 4.4%, respectively.

The livestock and poultry sub-sectors account for close to 30% of the total agricultural output for the first quarter.

Total fisheries production, which accounts for 24.8% of the total agricultural output, dipped by 0.6% in the first quarter of the year.

Commercial and municipal fisheries posted production declines of 3.5 and 0.15%, respectively, but aquaculture grew by 0.36%.