MANILA – The Philippine agriculture sector contracted in the second quarter of the year, driven by a decline in crop production.
Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Wednesday showed agricultural output contracted by 1.27 percent in April to June.
In the first quarter of 2019, the sector grew by 0.12 percent, and by 1.08 percent in the second quarter of 2018.
In terms of the value of production, the sector also posted a decline of 5.20 percent at P424.6 billion year-on-year.
“This was attributed to the decline in crops production,” the PSA said in an accompanying statement, as the subsector declined by 5.70 percent.
The crops subsector, which contributed 47.42 percent to the total agriculture output, also saw a drop in the value of production at P215.5 billion, down 11.09 percent year-on-year.
Crop production was led by a decline in palay output, which fell by 5.82 percent while corn dropped 8.73 percent.
Livestock output was up 3.22 percent, poultry by 4.14 percent, and fisheries by 1.90 percent. (GMA News)
