Output of industrial crops dwindles in Q4

MANILA, Philippines — A contraction in harvest area has affected the production of some of the country’s top industrial crops during the fourth quarter of 2019.

Among the country’s top industrial crops are coconut, abaca, coffee, rubber, sugarcane and tobacco.

In its latest major non-food and industrial crops bulletin, PSA said sugarcane production declined by 15 percent to 5.99 million metric tons due to reduction in area harvested as a result of delayed plantings amid the dry spell.

Sugarcane for centrifugal sugar accounted for 99.1 percent of the total sugarcane, while sugarcane for ethanol, panocha, muscovado, and others had less than one percent.

Western Visayas remains the largest producer, cornering 82 percent of the aggregate production.

Production of abaca fiber, likewise, decreased by three percent to 17,510 MT owing to contraction in area harvested and fewer stripping activities due to the effects of bunchy top disease.

Bicol Region was the highest producer of abaca fiber, accounting for 37.1 percent of the national total abaca production. This was followed by Eastern Visayas and Davao Region.

Production of tobacco of all varieties fell 48.4 percent to 570 MT amid decreases in area planted for Virginia tobacco due to the shift to corn production and other crops such as ampalaya, habitchuelas, squash and sweet potato.

There were also reports of stoppage of operation of some private corporations in Northern Mindanao in October last year.

On the other hand, coconut production inched up 0.9 percent to 4.09 million MT as more nuts were harvested due to lesser weather disturbances during the fruit development stage.

PSA said there was also sufficient application of salt fertilizer provided by the Philippine Coconut Authority, as well as sufficient rainfall during the fruit formation.

Davao Region was the top producer of coconut, which contributed 13 percent to the total production.  It was followed by Northern Mindanao and Zamboanga Peninsula.

Rubber production also increased 6.4 percent to 151,800 MT as more tapping activities were observed brought about by higher price.

The top rubber-producing region for the quarter was Soccsksargen with 46.3 percent of the total national production. This was followed by Zamboanga Peninsula and ARMM.