Abaca, coffee, rubber register lower production volume in Q1

At least three industrial crops registered lower production volume in the first quarter of the year due to plant diseases and devastation caused by typhoon Pablo in late 2012, government records show.

The decrease was seen for abaca, coffee and rubber, according to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) in its January to March 2013 Non-Food and Industrial Crops Quarterly bulletin.

Abaca production fell by 8.13 percent to 15, 652 metric tons (MT) in the first quarter of the year against 17,037 MT in the same period last year.

Coffee production in the first quarter of the year, meanwhile, reached 28,030 MT, down by 10.84 percent compared to the 31, 440 MT produced in the same period last year.

On the other hand, rubber production in the first three months of the year went down by 0.26 percent from 66,710 MT in the same period in 2012 to 66,540 MT.

The same BAS bulletin, however, noted increased production in coconut, tobacco and sugarcane.

The top coconut-producing regions for the period were Region Xl (Davao Region), Region lX (Zamboanga Peninsula), Region X (Northern Mindanao), Region Vlll (Eastern Visayas), and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Production of sugarcane for all uses in January to March 2013 went up by 2.50 percent to 12.158 million MT from 11.862 million MT in the period in 2012.

Centrifugal sugar output increased by 1.50 percent due to new harvest areas in Rizal and Kalinga provinces, increase in area from traditional corn areas in Negros Oriental, increase in area planted in Leyte and Bukidnon, and adequate fertilizer usage in Leyte, BAS said.

The top producers were Region VI (Western Visayas), Region X (Northern Mindanao), Region IV-A (CALABARZON), Region VII (Central Visayas and Region III (Central Luzon).

Tobacco production in the first quarter of the year also increased by 4.02 percent  to 11,443 MT from 10,990 MT in 2012.

The top producers of tobacco during the period were Ilocos Region with 94.18 percent share and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) with 4.87 percent share. — KBK, GMA News