Issn 2094-6198

ISSN 2094-6198

EXPLANATORY NOTES

The Non-Food and Industrial Crops Quarterly Bulletin provides updates on production, area and number of mature trees of six (6) major non-food and industrial crops, namely, abaca, coconut, coffee, rubber, sugarcane and tobacco. These crops are highlighted in the Performance of Philippine Agriculture which is released quarterly by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS).

The 1st quarter issue of the Bulletin provides preliminary estimates of production in January-March 2011, final estimates of production in October-December 2010 and January-December 2010, and final estimates of area planted. The data on area and production are based on the quarterly Crop Production Survey (CrPS) of the BAS, Quarterly Coconut Production Survey (QCPS) of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) and BAS, and Canes Milled as reported by sugar milling districts of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).

i JANUARY-MARCH 2011

Abaca. This year’s January-March abaca production reached 16.60 thousand mt, 0.32 percent lower than last year’s 16.65 thousand mt (Table 1). The decrease was attributed to the mosaic and bunchy tops diseases in the municipalities of Baybay, Mahaplag, Inopacan, Baruen and Ormoc City in Leyte. As a result, abaca production in Eastern Visayas dropped by 7.48 percent or by 369.68 mt (Table 3). Coconut. The combined production of mature and young nuts declined by 6.47 percent in the first quarter of 2011. Mature coconut production reached 3.34 million mt, 6.51 percent lower than last year’s 3.57 million mt (Table 1). The decrease was brought about by the long dry spell last year in Davao Region, Northern Mindanao and Zamboanga Peninsula. Young coconut production was estimated at 71.62 thousand mt in 2011, down by 4.50 percent from 74.99 thousand mt in 2010. Also, this was due to the long dry spell last year and preference for mature nuts due to high price of copra in Negros Oriental, Zamboanga del Sur and Lanao del Norte. Coffee. Production went down significantly by 10.91 percent, from 32.36 thousand mt in 2010 to 28.83 thousand mt in 2011 (Table 1). Arabica production dropped by 1.57 percent due to cutting of less productive old trees and shifting to rubber in Zamboanga del Norte, delayed fruiting in Sulu and land use conversion in Davao City. Excelsa production also

1 decreased by 9.68 percent, from 2.15 thousand mt to 1.94 thousand mt due to the conversion of land use in Batangas and Davao City and delayed fruiting in Sulu. Production of Robusta variety which accounts for about 75 percent of the country’s coffee production, declined by 13.02 percent or 3.24 thousand mt due to the adverse effect of El Niño last year. In Cavite, farmers were reluctant to apply fertilizer and adopt other good farming practices because of the low price of coffee in the previous years. Rubber. Production in January-March 2011 reached 61.95 thousand mt or 6.38 percent more than the 58.23 thousand mt in 2010. The output gain resulted from the increased frequency of tapping due to high price of rubber in SOCCSKSARGEN and Zamboanga Peninsula, specifically, in the provinces of North Cotabato, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay.

2 Sugarcane. The combined output of sugarcane for various uses increased by 26.73 percent, from 10.06 million mt in January-March 2010 to 12.75 million mt in the same period in 2011. Canes for centrifugal sugar which accounted for 99.34 percent of the total sugarcane production, increased by 28.02 percent due to full milling operation in Negros Occidental. High demand and high price of sugar induced harvesting for centrifugal sugar in Tarlac and Iloilo. Canes intended for ethanol were instead processed to centrifugal sugar in Negros Oriental. Increase in area harvested in Cavite, Bukidnon, Davao del Sur and Sultan Kudarat was also reported. On the other hand, production of sugarcane for muscovado went down by 9.37 percent due to planters’ preference to mill for centrifugal sugar in Tarlac. Likewise, production of sugarcane for chewing and basi/vinegar decreased by 12.73 percent and 7.39 percent, respectively. There was a shifting to muscovado processing in Mt. Province as a result of high price. Tobacco. Production of tobacco of all varieties increased by 1.47 percent or by 157 mt in January-March 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. Virginia tobacco production was up by 1.78 percent or 183 mt. Yellow corn, mongo and garlic farmers in Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte shifted to tobacco because of high price, thus, increasing the production area in Ilocos Region. Harvest of other tobacco varieties, mostly Burley tobacco, increased by 7.33 percent. Only Native tobacco posted a negative growth of 14.62 percent due to late planting in La Union and Iloilo as a result of the dry spell last year.

3 Figure 2. Abaca production by region, Philippines, January-March, 2011