Farmers planting rice, yellow corn and white corn earned more from their crops as farm-gate prices went up in 2014, according to the latest report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
In its report titled, Agricultural Indicators System: Prices and Marketing of Agricultural Commodities, the PSA said the average producer price index (PPI) for cereals rose to 186.2 percent.
“In particular, PPIs were estimated at 198.7 percent for palay; 150.1 percent for yellow corn; and 151.9 percent for white corn,” the report read.
On the average, the the PSA said PPI for agriculture increased to 156.7 percent in 2014. This implies that the average price received by farmers for their produce was 54.7 index points higher than the 2006 price level.
As for other crops, the PSA said the PPI of vegetables and legumes declined to 118 percent in 2014.
“Farm prices of chayote, green pepper finger and sweet peas dropped in 2014 and fell below the 100-percent mark which means that their farm prices in 2014 were lower than the 2006 price levels,” the report read.
Among the vegetables grown and consumed in the Philippines, the PSA said asparagus had the biggest PPI which increased to 694.4 percent in 2014.
“PPIs were also higher for ginger Hawaiian at 577.8 percent and ginger native at 372.1 percent. Black pepper recorded PPI at 264.5 percent. PPIs ranging from 150.7 percent to 193.0 percent were recorded for banana blossom, mongo green, fresh peanut with shell, dry peanut without shell, onion leeks and pechay native,” the report read.
For fruits, the PSA said the average PPI rose to 156.1 percent. PPIs ranging from 211.1 percent to 261.8 percent were recorded for green banana bungulan and lacatan, calamansi, and papaya solo. Below 100 percent PPIs were reported by durian, mandarin ladu and papaya native.
The PSA said the PPI of commercial crops went up to an average of 170.3 percent. Coconut, matured and young, indicated the highest PPIs at 200.3 percent and 271.0 percent, respectively. PPIs of rubber cuplump and native tobacco dry dropped and fell below 100 percent in 2014.
According to the report, livestock and poultry products posted increasing PPIs in 2014 at 146.3 percent and 132.0 percent, respectively. For livestock, PPIs ranged from a low of 135.7 percent for cattle to a high of 164.2 percent for goat.
“In the case of poultry, duck egg backyard had the highest PPI at 162 percent and lowest PPI was noted in chicken broiler backyard at 111.4 percent. PPI of fishery averaged 131.5 percent. It was lowest for tiger prawn at 108.4 percent and highest for seaweed at 147.0 percent,” the report read.
