May 29, 2018
Philippines' duck production down 2.6% in 1st quarter
Duck production in the Philippines declined 2.67% in the first quarter to 9,793 tonnes from last year's 9,779 tonnes due to the bird-flu outbreak in Luzon last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the BusinessMirror reported.
Duck output in Central Luzon region, a major producer and which was hit by avian influenza last July, declined higher by 6.3%. Despite the fall, Central Luzon remained the country's top duck-producing area during the first quarter. The region's output of 4,013 tonnes was 270 tonnes lower than the 4,283 tonnes produced in the same period last year.
The country's duck inventory (the actual number of animals present in the farm) as of April 1 expanded, however, by 3.49% to 11.22 million head, from 10.841 million in the same period last year.
Central Luzon had the largest duck population at 3.456 million, which accounted for 30.8% of the country's total inventory during the period.
The farm-gate price of duck in commercial farms during the first quarter averaged 51.77 pesos (almost US$1) per kilogramme, liveweight, up 3.98% from last year's PHP49.78.
Ducks are raised in the Philippines mainly for their eggs, which are processed into balut (boiled incubated duck's egg). When snail food gets scarce, they are sold for meat.
