Swine, chicken populations up in Q4, cattle down

THE SWINE and chicken populations rose in the fourth quarter of 2025, while the cattle herd decreased, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In its quarterly livestock bulletin, the PSA reported a 0.5% year-on-year increase in the swine population to 8.79 million head in the fourth quarter.

The PSA said 78.3% of the swine population was from smallhold farms, while the remaining 20.4% and 1.3% were from commercial and semi-commercial farms, respectively.

Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) recorded the highest swine population with 1.14 million head as of Dec. 31. This was followed by Central Luzon and the Bicol Region, with corresponding inventories of 1.04 million and 0.69 million head, respectively.

Hog production on a liveweight basis in the fourth quarter increased 1.6% year on year to 454,980 metric tons (MT).

The chicken population increased 5.2% year on year in the fourth quarter to 217.23 million birds.

The PSA said native or improved chickens accounted for 35.3% of the population, while broiler chickens accounted for 34.5%. Layer chickens and gamefowl for breeding accounted for 25.8% and 4.4% of the total, respectively.

The top chicken population was recorded in Calabarzon at 43.82 million birds, followed by Central Luzon with 38.81 million and Northern Mindanao with 17.76 million.

Chicken output on a live weight basis in the fourth quarter rose 9.4% to 613,560 MT from 560,740 in the same period in 2024.

Meanwhile, the cattle herd declined 1.3% year on year to 2.51 million head in the fourth quarter.

According to the PSA, 86.3% of the cattle herd was raised by smallhold farms, while the remaining 11.3% and 2.4% by semi-commercial and commercial farms, respectively.

The Central Visayas had the largest cattle herd with 273,100 head, followed by the Ilocos Region and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with corresponding populations of 259,670 and 253,650.

Cattle production on a liveweight basis  declined 1.5% to 64,940 MT in the fourth quarter. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel