Vegetables, root crops output mixed in Q4

MANILA, Philippines — The production of major vegetables and root crops posted mixed results in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to data from the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA).

In its latest quarterly bulletin, the PSA said some of the country’s top vegetable and root crops such as cassava, sweet potato, eggplant and peanuts posted declines in production.

Cassava production declined 1.4 percent to 768,300 metric tons (MT).

The Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) accounted for bulk or 59.7 percent of the produced cassava during the period at 458,760 MT.

Production of sweet potato similarly dropped 1.1 percent to 128,610 MT with the Central Visayas region as the top producer, accounting for 13.4 percent of the total production.

Eggplant production fell 1.4 percent to 24,240 MT.

CALABARZON remained the top producer,  accounting for 18.9 percent of the total output at 4,590 MT of eggplant.

Peanut output fel1 1.8 percent to 5,030 MT with Northern Mindanao being the biggest producer.

Meanwhile, mango production saw a higher yield, rising by 1.6 percent to 3,310 MT. The bulk or 51.6 percent of the production came from the ARMM which produced a total of 1,610 MT.

Cabbage output increased by 2.5 percent to 51,570 MT. The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) remained the top cabbage producer, taking up 79.7 percent of the total production at 41,080 MT.

Onion production, particularly bermuda onions, grew 7.8 percent to 69 MT with the Ilocos Region accounting for bulk of the output.

The Ilocos region also produced the most number of native onions, which rose one percent to 9,230 MT.

Tomato production improved by 0.6 percent to 28,300 MT. Northern Mindanao posted the highest production at 16,111 MT,  representing 56.9 percent of the total tomato output.