Philippines to import more agricultural goods in 2023 to quell rising prices (2024)

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Philippines to import more agricultural goods in 2023 to quell rising prices? ›

Philippines to import more agricultural goods in 2023 to quell rising prices. MANILA – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr plans to address a continuing surge in prices of basic commodities in the country by importing more agricultural produce in 2023.

Philippine agriculture grew faster at 1.2 percent in 2023, driven by higher poultry and livestock production, increased fruit harvest, and record rice output, as reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority on January 31, 2024. In 2022, agriculture expanded by only 0.6 percent.

Rice, wheat, corn, meat, and various fruits and vegetables are among the key agricultural items imported by the country.

1. Weather Unpredictability. Unpredictable weather has emerged as one of the most significant challenges in agriculture for 2023, with 52% of respondents saying it was their primary business concern.

The problems in agriculture in the Philippines include huge inequalities in land ownership and the failure of agrarian reform efforts to reduce inequities and improve the lives of poor peasants.

Due to the inability of domestic production to meet demand, the Philippines imports 99 percent of its dairy requirement. Intermediate products ranked as the second-largest category of U.S. agricultural products exported to the Philippines with a value of $1.4 billion, showing a 17-percent increase from 2021.

As of November 2023, agricultural plantation workers in the National Capital Region in the Philippines had a daily minimum daily wage of about 573 Philippine pesos - the highest nationwide. In contrast, agricultural plantation workers in BARMM had a daily minimum wage of about 306 Philippine pesos.

1. Sugarcane (Tubo) – Profits can be seen mostly from the by-product of sugarcane (confectionary, rum, ethanol, building materials, and fuel). 2. Bananas – Bananas are the top-grossing fruit produce as of Q3 of 2021.

Why are farmers struggling 2023? ›

The depletion of valuable resources necessary to sustain modern farms. Farmland degradation and undervaluing its capacity. A disconnected public perspective and demographic changes. The conversion of rural land for urban development.

While farm profitability in 2023 does rank among the all-time highs, the outlook moving forward is concerning. Cash receipts from the sales of crops and livestock are projected to fall by a combined $23 billion in 2023 to $513 billion.

In the case of the Philippines, with the elimination of quotas as decreed by the WTO and the so-called Minimum Access Volumes (MAV's) providing little protection, dumping of massively subsidized products triggered crises in the corn, pig, poultry, and vegetable sectors, leading to the bankruptcy of large numbers of ...

Challenges in the agriculture sector

Of the 30 million hectares of land area, only one-third is used for agricultural activities. On top of that, the country's geographical location makes it vulnerable to natural disasters such as flooding and drought, further contributing to the decrease in production.

Agriculture accounts for 22 percent of the country's workforce. PSA reports that the poverty rate among farmers is at 30 percent.

After two years of contraction due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the agriculture industry in the Philippines finally showed signs of recovery in 2022, although it remains to reflect a slower growth in comparison to the pre-pandemic periods.

The agriculture sector grew by 1.4 percent in Q4 2023, up from 0.9 percent in Q3 2023, which brings the full-year growth to 1.2 percent. Demand for agricultural output will remain vital – whether for household final consumption, industry inputs, or exports.

Challenges identified were lack of important provisions that will guarantee food security and reduce poverty in the countryside, lack of programs that will link agriculture with the industry, and insufficient activities aimed to vigorously transfer advanced production, post- harvest, and processing technologies to the ...

MANILA -- The Philippine economy fell short of an ambitious growth target for 2023 as rising inflation and interest rate hikes dampened household spending power. Official data released Wednesday showed annual GDP growth came in at 5.6%, well short of the 7.6% pace in 2022 and missing a government target of 6% to 7%.