THE country's crop output in the second quarter decreased, while that of poultry increased, the Philippine Statistics Authority said in its latest report.

Total crop harvest from April to June 2024 was 15.56 million metric tons (MT), down by 13 percent from 17.88 million MT in the same period last year, according to the report, due to an annual decline in the production of sugarcane, which went down by 42.3 percent to 1.6 million MT from 2.8 million MT in 2022.

The production of palay (unmilled rice), supposedly the biggest in the total crop output, dropped to 2.4 million MT, a 9.5-percent decline from 3.8 million MT.Corn yield also fell by 20.3 percent to 1.17 million MT, and onion by 37.4 percent to 53,180 MT.

In the same quarter, livestock production remained flat at 539,930 MT, compared to the previous year's 540,460 MT.

With a 78.3-percent share of the total volume of poultry production, hog output was at 422,060 MT, down marginally from last year's 422,720 MT. Likewise, goat output decreased by 2.7 percent to 15,880 MT, and that of carabao by 2.4 percent to 32,900 MT.

Dairy production, on the other hand, rose by 9.7 percent to 7,419 MT from 6,760 MT in the previous year.

Likewise, poultry production was up by 8.7 percent at 739,720 MT from last year's 680,500 MT. The top contributor was chicken production, which grew by 8.9 percent annually to 520,480 MT.

Chicken egg yield also climbed to 198,040 MT from 181,740 MT in the same period in 2023.

The Department of Agriculture earlier said that the latest production value indicates resilience amid challenges the industry faced, particularly El Niño and the recent typhoons.

"The department's proactive approach aims to mitigate the impact of adverse weather conditions and strengthen the sector's capacity to rebound," Agriculture Assistant Secretary and spokesman Arnel de Mesa said, explaining that the support measures are designed to enhance productivity and support farmers to sustain agricultural growth and stability despite external challenges.