Agric. sector grows 1.9% in Q1 2025 after three qtrs of decline

The Philippine agricultural sector experienced growth during the first quarter of 2025 after three consecutive quarters of decline due to weather disturbances.

According to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the value of agriculture and fisheries output reached P437.74 billion, marking a 1.9% increase from the same period in 2024.

Crops contributed 57.0% of total production with P249.61 billion, showing an annual growth of 1.0%, particularly driven by tobacco (80.4%), cacao (23.6%), and sugarcane (19.0%).

Poultry saw a significant rise of 9.4% to P75.22 billion, with chicken production up 8.7% and chicken eggs growing by 12.1%, while livestock output decreased slightly by 2.8%. Fisheries contributed P55.10 billion or 12.6% of total output, increasing by 1.5% from the previous year.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. expressed optimism that this recovery signals momentum for the latter half of the year as new infrastructure such as cold storage facilities and rice processing systems come online.