Coconut is still the top agricultural product in Mindanao over a five-year period, with cacao at the bottom, from among 13 commodities, according to the latest data from the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).
In the “Mindanao in Figures 2024,” a MinDA publication showcasing the macroeconomic indicators of the island, coconut production reached 44.6 million metric tons (MT) from 2019 to 2023.
Dubbed the “tree of life,” coconut is consistently Mindanao’s number one crop in the five-year period, although production was down to 8.96 million MT in 2023 from 9.01 million MT the previous year.
Banana came in second with a production of 38.22 million MT, followed by palay with 22.40 million MT, sugarcane with 21.87 million MT, and corn with 21.24 million MT.
Pineapple landed far at sixth place with 12.52 million MT, cassava with 9.94 million MT, oil palm with 2.44 million MT, rubber with 2.08 million MT, mango with 1.35 million MT, abaca with 143,145 MT, coffee with 125,574 MT, and cacao with 44,157 MT.
The top 13 crops produced a total volume of 176.94 million MT during the five-year period.
In 2023, while coconut remained as the top crop produced in Mindanao, it came in second after banana as the top export product of the island.
Mindanao’s top export product in 2023 was fresh and dried banana, including plantain, with a Free on Board (FOB) value of US$1.22 billion, followed by coconut at $920.37 million, the MinDA data showed.
Mindanao’s top 10 exports included non-agricultural products such as metallic minerals. Investopedia defines FOB as a shipment term used to indicate whether the seller or the buyer is liable for goods that are damaged or destroyed during shipping.
MinDA Assistant Secretary Romeo Montenegro underscored Mindanao’s vital contribution to the country’s export production and the national food output.
“To elevate our global competitiveness, we must improve our economies of scale—similar to what neighboring countries like Thailand and Singapore have done,” Montenegro said in a statement.
“Our products can go far beyond local markets if we scale up and meet global standards,” he added.
Montenegro reaffirmed MinDA’s commitment to agriculture as a core agenda, focusing on agribusiness development, value chain integration, and coastal resource management. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
