The Producers Price Index (PPI) for the agriculture sector in the fourth quarter of 2023 fell at its steepest rate in 4 years, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The PSA said the PPI for agriculture contracted 3.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023. This is the steepest decline in the PPI for agriculture since the fourth quarter of 2019, when it dropped by 6.8 percent.
However, the country’s average annual growth rate for the PPI for agriculture in 2023 was in the positive territory as it expanded by 9.6 percent.
“PPI measures the average change over time of prices received by farmers, livestock and poultry raisers and fisherfolks for the sale of their agricultural products relative to a base year,” PSA said.
The data also showed the quarter-on-quarter growth rate of PPI for agriculture dropped further to 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 from a 0.1-percent decline in the third quarter 2023.
At the country level, the annual growth in the PPI for crops posted a 4-percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2023 from a 12.3-percent annual increase recorded in the previous quarter.
In the same period of the previous year, its annual growth was recorded at 38.2 percent.
The PSA said four out of eight commodity groups recorded annual contractions during the fourth quarter of 2023.
These commodity groups are beans and legumes which contracted 16.7 percent; fruit vegetables, 25.6 percent; leafy vegetables, 25.8 percent; and commercial crops, 15.4 percent.
Meanwhile, faster annual growths were registered in the PPI of cereals at 15.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 from 12.5 percent in the third quarter of 2023.
The PSA said the root crops at 20.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 from 15.3 percent in the third quarter of 2023.
The PPI of fruits posted an 8-percent increase in the fourth quarter of 2023 from a 3.4-percent annual decline in the previous quarter.
The data also showed the annual increment in the PPI of condiments slowed to 4 percent from 142.7 percent. Quarter-on-quarter, the PPI for crops dropped to 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 from 0.7 percent increment in the third quarter of 2023.
In terms of livestock, the PPI posted a-2.5 percent annual increment in the fourth quarter of 2023 from an annual decline of 2.2 percent recorded in the previous quarter.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, its annual growth was registered at 9.3 percent.
The faster annual growth in the PPI for livestock and poultry during the fourth quarter of 2023 was due to the higher annual growth observed in the PPI for livestock at 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 from an annual decline of 3.9 percent in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, the PPI for poultry registered a 4.6 percent year-on-year decline from 1.1 percent increase in the previous quarter.
Source: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2024/02/29/agri-producer-prices-post-steepest-drop-in-4-years/
<ul>
<li>By <a href="https://businessmirror.com.ph/author/caiordinario/" target="_self">Cai U. Ordinario</a></li>
</ul>

Agri producer prices post steepest drop in 4 years