Second quarter swine situationer in Eastern Visayas

By PSA-8
August 31, 2018

TACLOBAN CITY – The swine industry in Eastern Visayas posted a 9.0% increase in production during the second quarter of 2018. Based on the preliminary data, the total swine production in the region went up to 18,316 metric tons (MT) during the quarter in review from 16,802 MT in the same quarter last year.

Eastern Visayas accounted for 3.3% of the country’s total swine production during the second quarter of 2018. It ranked fifth among the regions with low swine production in the country.

As of 1 July 2018, the total swine population in Eastern Visayas stood at 321,346 heads. This registered a slight increase of 0.2% from its 320,775 heads as of 1 July 2017.

Among provinces, Leyte recorded the highest number of swine at 168,381 heads, which comprised more than half or 52.4% of the total swine population in the region. Northern Samar ranked second with 46,594 heads, which accounted for 14.5% of the region’s total swine inventory. Biliran, meanwhile, registered the lowest inventory of swine with 3.8% share or 12,109 heads.

By farm type, swine population raised in commercial farms stood at 11,636 heads as of 1 July 2018. This posted a decrease of 14.7% from its 13,639 heads as of 1 July 2017. All provinces registered decreases, except Samar, the only province that exhibited an increase of 541.4% to 930 heads as of 1 July 2018 from 145 heads as of 1 July 2017. Southern Leyte posted the highest decrease at 35.3%.

On the other hand, the number of swine raised in backyard farms inched up slightly by 0.8% to 309,710 heads as of 1 July 2018 from 307,136 heads as of 1 July 2017, where increases registered in Eastern Samar (3.0%) and Leyte (2.4%) offset the decreases registered in Samar (2.2%), Southern Leyte (1.9%), Northern Samar (0.7%), and Biliran (0.3%).

Almost all or 96.4% of the total swine population in the region were raised in backyard farms while the rest (3.6%) were in commercial farms.