The Food Balance Sheet (FBS) of the Philippines presents a comprehensive picture of the country's pattern of food supply and utilization during a specified reference period.

It gives an indication of the adequacy of food supply relative to the nutritional requirements of the population. The FBS series is, therefore a useful tool in the formulation of national food production and trade programs aimed at satisfying the dietary and nutritional needs of the Filipinos.

The FBS is regularly compiled by the Economic and Social Statistics Office (ESSO) of the NSCB with significant inputs provided by the:

• Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS)
• National Statistics Office (NSO)
• Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), and the
• Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI)

Cognizant of its use to both local and international planners, policy-makers and researchers, the FBS is continuously being improved to provide a more comprehensive view of the food situation during a given period. Some improvements have already been incorporated in this series particularly those recommended by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

Technical Notes

Sources of Basic Data

The compilation of the FBS requires basic data on production, stocks, foreign trade, domestic utilization, nutrient value, dietary allowances and population which are obtained from results of censuses, household and establishment surveys, administrative reports of government agencies and special studies by various research institutions.

Estimation Methodology

Total Domestic Supply (TDS)

TDS = production + changes in stocks + net imports

1. Production = unprocessed food commodities + processed food commodities

Production estimates of the following processed food commodities are derived by applying appropriate parameters taken from special studies:

• Rice production is estimated by applying a milling recovery rate of 65.4 percent to the total palay production after deducting the estimated amount for seed, feed and waste
• Corn grits production is estimated by applying a milling recovery rate of 68 percent to total corn shelled production after deducting allowances for seed, feed, wastage and manufacture for food and non-food
• Cassava starch production is arrived at by applying an extraction ratio of 20 percent to the total cassava production used for non-food purposes
• Shelled peanut production is estimated by applying a 70 percent extraction rate to the total unshelled peanut production.
• For processed vegetables and fruits in the form of canned, dried, juices including other type of food preparations, production estimates are arrived at using the available Census of Establishments/Annual Survey of Establishments data on the value of products sold less value of the changes in inventory divided by the corresponding per unit price.
• For livestock and poultry meat production, a dressing percentage which varies by type of animal is applied to the total number of animals slaughtered. Meanwhile, the estimates of total weight of extremities and internal organs of animals such as head, feet and tail, intestines, blood, liver, heart, etc. are estimated based on results of special studies from University of the Philippines in Los Banos and the Bureau of Animal Industry.

2. Changes in Stocks = ending stocks - beginning stocks

The estimates for stocks are carried out for selected commodities to the extent where data are available. The current FBS compilation covers estimates of stocks for rice, corn and centrifugal sugar. These estimates serve as an adjustment to the reported estimates of total production.

3. Net Imports = total imports - total exports

Total Domestic Utilization (TDU)

TDU = net available food supply + non-food utilization + processed for food

1. Net available food supply represents the total amount of food available for consumption. Non-food utilization refers to a part of total domestic utilization which is used for seed, feed, processed for non-food including the amount wasted. The estimates are obtained by deducting from total domestic supply of food commodities the total amount for allowances for non-food utilization and processed for food. The amount represents the actual quantity of food in the retail stage or "as purchased basis."

2. Estimates of non-food utilization such as seed, feed, processed for non-food and waste make use of ratio parameters. These are separately estimated as follows:

• Feed, which refers to the amount of food for animals, is estimated by applying appropriate parameters to the reported total production of certain food crop.
• Seed, which refers to the quantity of food crops used as seeds or planting materials, is estimated by applying certain seeding allowance per hectare by crop type.
• Processed for non-food, which refers to the quantity of food crops converted into non-food commodities for industrial and manufacturing purposes are estimated using appropriate parameters.
• Waste, which refers to the amount of losses that occur during harvesting, infestations, spoilage, storage, distribution, etc., is estimated by applying certain wastage parameters to the total estimates of production or total domestic supply.

3. Processed for food refers to the quantity of food crops which are further transformed into other forms of food commodities.

Per Capita Food Supply

The annual per capita food supply in kilograms is estimated by dividing the net available food supply by the estimated mid-year population then multiplied by 1,000.

The daily per capita food supply in grams is estimated by dividing the annual per capita food supply by 365 days then multiplied by 1,000.

Nutrient Supply

The nutrient equivalent of the food supply is in terms of calories, proteins and fats is computed by multiplying the daily per capita food supply in grams by the corresponding nutrient values per 100 grams of the retail weight or "as purchased basis." Further adjustments based on the FNRI Nutrition Surveys are made for some commodities from "as purchased basis" into "edible portion" to account for the amount of wastage at the household level. The adjusted values represent the net edible portion of the food supply in terms of calories, protein or fats equivalent.

Food Sufficiency

Food sufficiency is a measure of the adequacy of available food supply to meet the food requirements of the population. Expressed in percentage, the estimation is done by dividing the available supply for daily consumption by the recommended dietary allowance multiplied by 100.

A percent sufficiency greater than 100 percent indicates that available food supply is adequate to meet the country's food requirements while a value less than 100 percent indicates that food supply is below the food requirement of the population.

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1997-1999
Food Balance Sheet
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