November 18, 2004

Good Corn Harvest Helps Philippine Agriculture Sector Achieve 7.9% Growth in Q3
 

The farm sector in the Philippines sustained a high growth of 7.94 percent in the third quarter, rising from 4.33 percent in the same period last year. This is due to a good rice and corn harvest that benefited from an auspicious weather and soaring price in the world market.

According to Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap, the growth cumulative growth rate for the first nine months of 6.82 percent was the highest since 2000. With the high growth rate in the first (7.98 percent) and the third quarter of the year, farm sector growth is seen at 4.85 to five percent by the end of 2004.

"We're looking at a 4.85 to five percent and maybe more. That is high because we only had 3.77 percent last year," Yap said.

Despite the high growth rate in the previous quarters except for a 4.33 percent growth in the second quarter, Yap said the Department of Agriculture (DA) wants to keep a conservative growth estimate for the entire year due to a possible adverse impact of El Nino on the crop, which is foreseen to have more impact in the first two quarters of 2005.

Both rice and corn output are seen to reach record-high this year at 14.54 million metric tons (MT) for rice, up by 7.7 percent, and 5.48 million MT for corn, rising 18.6 percent. Value of production at constant prices from January to September this year totaled R206.098 billion, up by 6.82 percent from the previous year's R192.94 billion.

Fishery, which accounted for 18.55 percent of total value of farm output, recorded increasing aquaculture growth of 26.25 percent to 1.182 million MT.

In livestock, growth was 6 percent for carabao to 99,980 MT; 2.16 percent for dairy to 8,510 MT; 0.7 percent for hog to 1.242 million MT; and 0.45 percent to 58,580 MT for goat.

Despite the Philippines' opportunity to export chicken for the first time to Japan this year due to its bird flu-free status, chicken output growth slowed to 1.78 percent from 3.86 percent in the first nine months of last year to 816,000 MT.