The country’s mango output in the first quarter declined by 9.39 percent to 97,700 metric tons, from 107,830 MT recorded output in the same period of last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
“The downtrend in mango production with this year’s 9.39-percent drop was due to the occurrence of capsid bug, cecid fly and other fruit flies, and the late flowering of some trees in Ilocos region and Central Luzon,” the PSA said in its recent report on agriculture performance.
The PSA said the reduction in the volume of output resulted in a 39.55-percent increase in the average farm-gate price of mango in the January-to-March period.
The average farm-gate quotation of the fruit in the first quarter reached P58.76 per kilogram, which was P16.65 higher than the P42.11-per-kg price level recorded in the same period of 2017.
The higher farm-gate prices drove the value of mango production at current prices in the first quarter to reach P5.741 billion, 26.44 percent higher than the P4.54 billion recorded amount a year ago.
Meanwhile, the country’s banana output during the reference period grew 2.06 percent to 2.143 million metric tons, from 2.1 MMT recorded production in the January-to-March period of 2017. The PSA attributed this to higher yield and expansion of banana plantations in some parts of the country.
“In Davao region, there were increases in the number of bearing hills, and bigger bunches of bananas were harvested due to sufficient rainfall,” it said. “Expansion of plantation areas was reported in Soccsksargen.” South Cotabato, Cotabato City, Cotabato Province, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City form Soccsksargen.
Furthermore, the PSA said “increased demand from local consumers and hotel and restaurants industries, and higher buying price from traders pushed up the prices of banana” during the first quarter.
The average farm-gate price of banana grew 7.47 percent to P16.90 per kg, from P15.73 per kg recorded quotation a year ago.
The higher buying price and expanded output drove the value of banana production in the first quarter to expand by 9.68 percent to P36.233 billion, from P33.034 billion recorded amount in the same period of 2017.
Likewise, favorable weather conditions and expansion of plantation allowed pineapple farmers to hike their output in the first quarter by 1.16 percent.
Pineapple production in the January-to-March period reached 620,640 MT, which was 7,110 MT higher than the 613,530 recorded volume in the same period of 2017.
“This was attributed to the increase in harvested areas and bigger sizes of fruits caused by the occurrence of intermittent rains that favored fruit development in Northern Mindanao and sufficient fertilizer application in Bicol
region,” the PSA said.
“Additional plantation areas were also reported in Soccsksargen,” the PSA added.
The increased demand for the tropical fruit by the hospitality sector pushed the average farm-gate price of pineapple in the first quarter to a 2.20-percent growth.
The average farm-gate price of pineapple in the first quarter reached P8.89 per kg, from the P8.70 average quotation a year ago.
The value of pineapple production, at current prices, during the reference period expanded by 3.38 percent to P5.515 billion, from the P5.334-billion recorded amount in the first quarter of 2017. This was attributed to higher output and average farm-gate prices of the tropical fruit, according to PSA.