ILOILO — Iloilo Province has cemented its position as Western Visayas’ agricultural powerhouse, dominating the production of 11 of the region’s 12 major fruit, vegetable and root crops in the second quarter of 2026, with its pepper harvest registering an extraordinary surge of nearly 500 percent.
Preliminary figures released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Region 6 showed that Iloilo accounted for as much as 97.8 percent of the region’s pepper production, 95.8 percent of pineapple output and more than 90 percent of tomato harvests, underscoring the province’s overwhelming contribution to regional agricultural production.
The province also maintained its dominance in mango and eggplant production, the two leading crops in their respective categories, despite mixed performances across Western Visayas’ agricultural sector.
Of the 12 major crops monitored by PSA-6, Iloilo emerged as the top producer of all six major fruit crops and five of the six leading vegetables and root crops.
Aklan was the only province to outperform Iloilo in one category, accounting for 40.4 percent of the region’s cassava production.
“Iloilo leads Top VRCs Production in Western Visayas Production of the top VRCs during the second quarter of 2026 was largely concentrated in the province of Iloilo, except for Cassava,” PSA-6 reported.
The most remarkable development was the explosive growth in pepper production, which skyrocketed by 495.5 percent year-on-year to 2,630 metric tons (MT).
Iloilo supplied 97.8 percent of this volume, making it the region’s undisputed leader in pepper production.
The province also accounted for 90.6 percent of the region’s 2,889 MT tomato harvest, which increased by 3.5 percent from the corresponding period in 2025.
Eggplant remained Western Visayas’ leading vegetable and root crop, with total production reaching 7,846 MT. Iloilo contributed 89.8 percent of this output, although regional production declined by 5.3 percent from 8,287 MT in the second quarter of 2025.
Cassava ranked second with 7,599 MT, down 7.8 percent year-on-year. Aklan led with 40.4 percent of the regional output, followed by Iloilo with 31.5 percent, Capiz with 13.1 percent, Antique with 11.2 percent and Guimaras with 3.8 percent.
Young jackfruit production increased by 6.5 percent to 4,680 MT, with Iloilo contributing 68.3 percent.
Sweet potato production, meanwhile, declined by 4.9 percent to 4,584 MT. Iloilo still accounted for the largest share at 51.2 percent, followed by Capiz and Aklan with 19.7 percent each, Guimaras with 7.9 percent and Antique with 1.5 percent.
Iloilo dominates fruit harvests
The province’s agricultural dominance extended to the fruit sector, where it led production across all six major crops monitored by PSA-6.
“Iloilo leads production of fruit crops in Western Visayas. The provincial distribution of the top fruit crops in Western Visayas was primarily produced by Iloilo,” PSA-6 stated in its report.
Mango retained its position as the region’s leading fruit crop, with production reaching 49,238 MT, up 0.7 percent from 48,910 MT during the same quarter in 2025.
Iloilo accounted for 52.4 percent of the region’s mango harvest, surpassing Guimaras, which contributed 36.4 percent.
Banana ranked second among fruit crops with 38,406 MT, although production fell by 5.3 percent year-on-year.
Iloilo supplied 57.9 percent of the region’s banana output, followed by Antique with 19.5 percent, Aklan with 12.2 percent and Capiz with 9.0 percent.
Watermelon production suffered the sharpest contraction among the major fruit crops, dropping by 11.6 percent to 10,512 MT. Despite the decline, Iloilo remained the leading producer, contributing 79.7 percent of the regional harvest.
Pineapple production climbed by 3.8 percent to 5,601 MT, with Iloilo accounting for an overwhelming 95.8 percent of the total.
The province also supplied 96.5 percent of the region’s 2,382 MT melon harvest, although overall production slipped by 0.5 percent.
Ripe jackfruit recorded the highest growth rate among the major fruit crops, increasing by 4.6 percent to 1,079 MT.
Iloilo contributed 49.5 percent of this harvest, followed by Guimaras with 21 percent and Aklan with 17.9 percent.
Agricultural strength amid declining harvests
While Iloilo’s commanding production shares highlighted its importance to Western Visayas’ agricultural economy, the PSA figures also revealed uneven performances among the region’s major crops.
Production declined in eggplant, cassava, sweet potato, banana, watermelon and melon, even as pepper, tomato, young jackfruit, mango, pineapple and ripe jackfruit registered increases.
The contrasting figures indicate that Iloilo’s dominance in regional agricultural output does not necessarily translate into sustained production growth across all crops.
Nevertheless, the province’s leadership in 11 of the 12 monitored crop categories underscores its central role in the region’s supply of fruits, vegetables and root crops.
The PSA figures are preliminary and cover agricultural production during April to June 2026./PN