Q2 agri production quickens 5.7%

The value of the country’s agriculture and fisheries output grew by 5.7 percent in the second quarter of the year as crops and poultry production expanded due to favorable weather conditions—a development that augurs well for economic growth.

- By DEXTER BARRO II

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Wednesday, Aug. 6, showed that the value of agriculture and fisheries production, at constant 2018 prices, reached P437.53 billion from April to June. The government will report on the second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) performance—which includes agriculture—on Thursday, Aug. 7.

In the same period last year, agricultural output contracted by 3.3 percent year-on-year with the value of 413.91 billion due to the impact of the El Niño phenomenon.

The 5.7-percent growth in the second quarter builds upon the 1.7-percent increase in output in the first three months of the year, which reversed three straight quarters of contractions in 2024.

“The growth was due to the expansions in the value of crops and poultry production,” the PSA said.

Crops, which contributed 56 percent to total agricultural output, posted an 11.3-percent growth to an estimated P244.9 billion from last year’s P220.04 billion.

Palay (unmilled rice) and corn saw increases of 13.9 percent and 27.3 percent, respectively.