Agro-based exports up in 1st quarter

AGRICULTURE-BASED exports in the first quarter rose 7.5% year on year to $1.82 billion, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), citing preliminary data.

The PSA said agro-based exports accounted for 8% of total exports by value.

Coconut products, the Philippines’ top agricultural export commodity, posted a 4.7% decline to $849.34 million in the first quarter. The commodity group accounted for 3.74% of total exports.

Fruit and vegetable exports grew 18.7% to $751.41 million in the first quarter, driven by 28.7% growth in shipments of pineapple and pineapple products. Fruit and vegetables accounted for 3.31% of the Philippines’ total exports.

Outbound shipments of other agro-based products, including seafood, rubber, and various types of plant fiber, declined 8.8% to $214.14 million in the first quarter. This group of commodities accounted for 0.94% of total exports.

The biggest export gains were recorded for copra meal or cake (118.1%), seaweed (65.7%), pineapple concentrate (60.2%), pineapple juice (41.5%), desiccated coconut (35.1%), and canned pineapple (18.8%).

The top declines in export growth were posted by abaca fiber (-65.5%), coconut oil (-12.9%), unmanufactured tobacco (-14.7%), natural rubber (-9.4%), and mangoes (-9.1%). — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel