PRODUCTION of major vegetables in the second quarter was mixed with output gains posted by farmers of mung beans (monggo), tomato, bitter gourd (ampalaya), native onion, and sweet potato and declines recorded for potato, cabbage, eggplant, bermuda onion, and cassava, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
In its quarterly bulletin, the PSA said tomato production rose 3.2% year on year to 74,266 MT.
Ilocos Region was the top producer, accounting for 38% or 28,247 MT, followed by Central Luzon with 10.9% or 8,111 MT, and Cagayan Valley 10.2% or 7,596 MT.
Sweet potato production rose 4.9% to 157,469 MT.
Bicol Region was the top producer, accounting for 29.1% or 45,759 MT, followed by Central Luzon with 21.2% or 33,406 MT, and Eastern Visayas 14.3% or 22,540 MT.
Native onion production rose 0.4% to 1,018 metric tons (MT), led by Ilocos Region with 76.7% or 781 MT.
Ampalaya, or bitter gourd, production rose 0.5% to 30,666 MT, led by Central Luzon, which accounted for 41% or 12,560 MT, followed by CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) with 13.7% or 4,207 MT, and Ilocos Region 11.9% or 3,657 MT.
Monggo production rose 1% year on year to 23,799 MT, led by Ilocos Region, which accounted for 40.4% or 9,614 MT, followed by Cagayan Valley with 25.2% or 5,990 MT, and Central Luzon 24.4% or 5,818 MT.
Meanwhile, Bermuda onion production fell 7% year on year to 54,957 MT.
Potato production fell 5.3% to 12,520 MT, while cabbage output fell 0.6% to 22,356 MT. Eggplant production fell 1.8% to 104,435 MT, and cassava output fell 3.8% to 722,820 MT.
In August, the PSA estimated that the overall crop production in the Philippines rose 5% year on year and accounted for 53.7% of total agricultural output. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
