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CATTLE STOCK DECLINES Business World, June 29, 2011

News of double-dead pork being sold in markets pushed up demand for beef, contributing to a decline in the countrys cattle inventory in the last quarter of 2010, an expert said. Cattle count in backyard and commercial farms dropped by 2.06% to 2.52 million from 2.57 million in the last quarter of 2009, according to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics. The beef sector is a niche market dependent on overflows from poultry, swine and fish. The reason for low inventories is the high demand for cattle, said Virgilio L. Badilla, secretary of the Philippine Braham Breeders Association. Local cattle stocks are being consumed. Demand will continue to rise because of ongoing food scares, he added, citing the recent fish kill in Batangas. Inventory in the countrys top-cattle producing regions went down: by 8.08% in the Ilocos region, 1.07% in Northern Mindanao, 0.69% in Central Visayas, and 1.70% in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon). Together, these four regions accounted for more than 40% of total cattle stock. Western Visayas, which ranked fifth in terms of cattle inventory, recorded a 7.96% increase, to 243,334 heads from 225,383 heads. About 93% of cows included in the count were raised in backyard farms. The rest were raised in commercial farms, the BAS said. In a report, global research firm Research and Markets predicted the livestock industrys steady, if unpredictable growth in 2011, and a 2.1% growth in overall beef production. Philippine Cattle Inventories By Region REGION Q4 2009 CAR ILOCOS REGION CAGAYN VALLEY CENTRAL LUZON CALABARZON MIMAROPA BICOL REGION WESTERN VISAYAS 53,483 317,073 197,541 173,144 255,253 87,144 68,759 225,383

Q4 2010 61,567 291,442 187,710 171,313 250,927 90,267 73,468 243,334

CENTRAL VISAYAS 275,207 EASTERN VISAYAS 15,349 ZAMBOANGA 155,994 PENINSULA NORTHERN MINDANAO 281,442 DAVAO 140,144 SOCCSKSARGEN 18,097 ARMM 103,761 TOTAL 2,570,879 Source: Bureau of Agricultural Statistics

273,311 14,671 140,079 278,426 138,175 19,208 89,233 2,517,858