Hog production rebounds, poultry sector surges in Q1

HOG AND POULTRY output expanded in the first quarter while carabao and goat production declined, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

The PSA said hog production in the three months to March rose 6.4% to 428.92 thousand metric tons (MT) on a liveweight basis. This marks the first quarterly increase after two years of decline.

The swine inventory as of March 31 fell 1.5% to 8.70 million head, with smallhold farms accounting for 78.5% of the herd. Commercial farms accounted for 20.3%, while semi-commercial farms made up 1.2%.

The population remains significantly lower than the 15 million before the African Swine Fever outbreak.

Cattle production rose 1.7% in the first quarter to 55.71 MT (liveweight).

The PSA said the cattle inventory at the end of March was 2.52 million head, down 1.5% from a year earlier.

Carabao production fell 3.3% year on year to 27.58 MT (liveweight). The PSA said 99.3% of the carabao herd of 2.60 million head was held by smallhold farms.

Goat production fell 5.8% year on year to 13.69 MT (liveweight), marking a decline after an uptick in 2025. The PSA said 99.8% of the goat herd of 3.58 million heads was held by smallhold farms.

Dairy output surged 6.5% year on year to 11.79 MT in the first quarter. Dairy animal inventory grew 26.8% to 201.19 thousand head, with dairy carabao accounting for 58.2%.

Meanwhile, the poultry subsector posted significant growth. Total chicken production jumped 5.8% to 585.47 MT (liveweight) in the first quarter.

Total chicken inventory fell 0.3% as of the end of March to 224.96 million birds.

Chicken egg production expanded 10.6% to 222.95 MT. The total laying flock at the end of March increased 7.5% to 79.98 million birds, with layer chickens making up 63.2% of the total.

Duck meat production edged up 2.9% to 6.63 MT (liveweight). The duck inventory as of March 31 rose 1% to 14.21 million birds, over 69% of which were raised in smallhold farms.

Duck egg production expanded 3.5% to 12.94 MT, reversing declines from the previous year. — Pierce Oel A. Montalvo