Pineapple and watermelon remained to be some of the most profitable fruits to produce in the country last year, as both recorded a return of investment (ROI) rate of at least 295 percent.
In its annual report, titled “Updated Production Costs and Returns of Selected Agricultural Commodities,” the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) noted that pineapple and watermelon production posted an ROI of 351 percent and 295 percent, respectively.
In 2016 Filipino farmers producing pineapple earned a gross profit per hectare of P359,284, 7.74 percent higher than the P333,467 per hectare recorded earnings in 2015.
“Returns after deducting cash costs amounted to P295,220 per hectare. Meanwhile, after all cash and noncash costs were deducted, returns settled at P294,245 per hectare in 2016,” the PSA said in the report published recently.
“Producers netted P3.51 for every peso invested in pineapple production during the reference year,” the PSA added.
The PSA report indicated that the higher average farm-gate price of pineapple last year contributed to the increase in its ROI. The average farm-gate price of pineapple per kilogram in 2016 was pegged at P8.97, slightly higher than the P8.11 recorded in 2015.
On the other hand, gross earnings of producing watermelon in every hectare last year grew by 8.42 percent to P256,794, from P236,849 in 2015.
However, cost of watermelon production per hectare grew slightly to P64,990, from P64,928.
“Net returns from watermelon production settled at P191,804 in 2016,” the PSA said.
“Per kilogram, the estimated production cost was P3.20. Price received by farmers averaged P12.64 per kilogram,” the PSA added.
The PSA said a Filipino farmer earned P2.95 for every peso spent in producing watermelon last year. This was P0.30 higher than the P2.65 recorded net profit-cost ratio in 2015.
The PSA report also noted that the average net income of mango farmers last year grew by nearly 25 percent to P67,277 per hectare, from P55,483 per hectare net income recorded in 2015.
“With an average yield of mango at 4,334 kilograms, earnings amounted to P146,923 per hectare,” the PSA said in the report published recently.
The PSA report also indicated that the mango farmers’ gross earnings last year was 12.70 percent higher than the P130,363 they earned in 2015.
The growth in the gross earnings offset the 3.23-percent increase in the cost of mango production per hectare last year. In 2016 the cost of producing mango per hectare was pegged at P79,722, compared to the P77,228 recorded value in 2015.
The bulk of the total costs incurred by Filipino mango farmers, or about 56.08 percent, were in the form of cash. Farmers spent P43,545 per hectare to produce mango last year, slightly lower than the P43,813 recorded in 2015.
The increase in cost of production meant that Filipino farmers spent at least P17.92 to produce a kilogram of mango. This was 14.65 percent higher than the P15.63 per kilogram cost of production recorded in 2015.
The report indicated that the average farm-gate price of mango last year breached the P30 level, reaching P33.90 per kilogram. This was nearly a quarter higher than the P27.21 per-kilogram average farm-gate price recorded two years ago.
Overall, mango production last year posted an ROI of 89 percent compared to 2015’s 76 percent ROI level.
“For every peso invested in mango production, farmers netted P0.89 in 2016,” the PSA said.