The Ilocos Region ranked second among regions in the country in terms of watermelon production in 2022. The region’s production of 28,757.01 metric tons contributed 21.36 percent to the national production of 134,619.13 metric tons during the period.

The watermelon production in Ilocos Region decreased in 2022. The recorded production during the period was 28,757.01 metric tons, a decrease of 25.38 metric tons from the production of 28,782.39 metric tons in 2021.

It can be gleaned in Figure 2 that the province of Pangasinan was the major contributor in the overall production of watermelon. During the period, Pangasinan’s production was 23,102.96 metric tons. It was, however, lower by 358.49 metric tons from the 2021 production of 23,461.45 metric tons.

Meanwhile, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, and La Union showed increases in their production compared to the previous year. Ilocos Sur marked increase of 209.78 metric tons from the production of 1,062.87 metric tons in 2021 to 1,272.65 metric tons in 2022. A total of 87.30 metric tons was added to Ilocos Norte’s watermelon production in 2022 at 3,738.31 metric tons. As for the watermelon production in La Union, it increased by 36.03 metric tons in 2022.

The province of Pangasinan has the highest volume of watermelon production with a share of 80.34 percent to the region’s output in 2022. Ilocos Norte followed with a share of 13.00 percent, and Ilocos Sur with 4.42 percent. La Union has the least contribution with 2.24 percent share to the region’s production.

SGD. ATTY. SHEILA O. DE GUZMAN, CPA
Regional Director, RSSO I