HOG and chicken output both rose in the three months to March, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
The PSA said hog output during the period was 437.99 thousand metric tons (MT) on a liveweight basis, up 5.1% from a year earlier.
Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) was the top producer at 61.18 thousand MT, followed by Central Visayas (57.92 thousand MT), Northern Mindanao (55.46 thousand MT), Western Visayas (52.88 thousand MT) and Central Visayas (40.27 thousand MT).
These regions accounted for 61.1% of national production.
As of March 31, the PSA estimated the national hog herd at 10.18 million head, up 4.2% from a year earlier.
“About 76.5% of the country’s swine population came from smallhold farms, while the remaining 22.3% and 1.2% were from commercial and semi-commercial farms, respectively,” the PSA said.
The farmgate price of swine for slaughter was down 3.3% to P170.26 per kilogram during the quarter.
The PSA also reported that chicken production increased 3.3% year on year to 470.21 thousand MT.
Central Luzon was the top producer at 162.44 thousand MT, followed by Calabarzon (81.06 thousand MT), Northern Mindanao (44.22 thousand MT), Western Visayas (31.57 thousand MT), and Ilocos Region (25.53 thousand MT).
These regions accounted for 73.3% of overall chicken output.
“Of the total chicken inventory, native/improved chicken accounted for 43.4%, followed by broiler chicken with a 33.5% share, and layer chicken with 23.1%,” the PSA said.
The average farmgate price of broiler chicken during the quarter was P116.48 per kilogram, up 9.9% from a year earlier.
Chicken egg production during the quarter grew 2.8% to 175.73 thousand MT.
The top producer was Calabarzon with 57.71 thousand MT, followed by Central Luzon (33.82 thousand MT), Central Visayas (20.05 thousand MT), Northern Mindanao (13.81 thousand MT), and Western Visayas (9.52 thousand MT).
These regions accounted for about 76.8% of chicken egg output during the period.
The layer chicken flock declined 2.2% year on year to 65.22 million birds, with 34.7% consisting of native/improved chicken.
The average farmgate price of chicken egg during the period rose 34.3% to P7.12 per piece.
Cattle production amounted to 53.89 thousand MT, liveweight, up 1.9% from a year earlier.
Northern Mindanao was the top producer at 11.26 thousand MT, followed by Ilocos Region (5.46 thousand MT), Central Visayas (5.41 thousand MT), Western Visayas (4.70 thousand MT), and Calabarzon (4.11 thousand MT).
These regions accounted for 57.4% of national production during the quarter.
“As of March, the total cattle inventory reached 2.57 million head. This indicates a decrease of 0.2% from the previous year’s same-period count of 2.58 million head,” the agency said.
“About 82.1% of the country’s cattle population during the period came from smallhold farms, while the remaining 14.3% and 3.6% consisted of semi-commercial farms and commercial farms, respectively,” it added.
The PSA said dairy output fell 11.4% to 7.17 thousand MT, easing from the record year-earlier level of 8.09 thousand MT.
Calabarzon was the top dairy producer at 2.04 thousand MT, followed by Central Luzon (1.88 thousand MT), Western Visayas (0.61 thousand MT), and Davao Region (0.50 thousand MT).
These regions accounted for 81.7% of overall dairy production.
As of March 31, dairy animal numbers increased 9.2% year on year to 98.74 thousand MT.
“Of the dairy animal inventory as of March 31, dairy goats accounted for 39.2%. This was followed by dairy carabaos with a 33.9% share and dairy cattle with a 26.9% share,” the PSA said.
According to the PSA, the average farmgate price of all dairy animals declined 15.6% to P51.77 per liter. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera