The country’s unmilled rice output may drop by 1.8 percent to 4.07 million metric tons in the second quarter, from last year’s 4.15 MMT, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
In its latest report, the PSA said rice production in April to June would settle below last year’s record due to lower yield and the contraction in harvest area.
“Harvest area may contract to 932,640 hectares, from last year’s level of 947,190 hectares. Yield may probably drop by 0.2 percent from 4.38 MT per hectare in 2017,” the PSA said.
In an earlier report, the PSA attributed the contraction in harvest area to the decision of farmers to plant and harvest early during the last two quarters.
The conversion of farms planted with palay and the lack of irrigation in some rice-producing provinces also made it more difficult for farmers to plant more palay.
However, the latest forecast of the PSA is higher than its previous projection of 4.05 MMT. The PSA said better planting conditions would allow some rice-producing regions to hike output.
“The increments in palay production are foreseen in Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Quezon and Mindoro Oriental,” the PSA said.
“These may be attributed to sufficient water, lesser incidence of pests and diseases coupled with good weather condition during the cropping period,” the PSA added.
The country’s total palay production in the first half of the year is expected to reach 8.693 MMT, 1.5 percent higher than the 8.569 MMT recorded a year ago, due to the record-high output in the January-to-March period.
PSA data showed that the projected palay output in the January-to-June period would be the highest recorded first-semester production in the country’s history.
Philippine unmilled rice production in the first quarter expanded by 4.62 percent to 4.623 MMT, from 4.419 MMT recorded in the same period last year. The PSA said rice planted in 633,410 hectares, or nearly 68 percent of the updated standing crop in the second quarter, has been harvested as of May 1.
“Of the remaining updated standing palay crop, 37.9 percent were at vegetative stage, 19 percent at reproductive stage and 43.1 percent at maturing stage,” it added.
The PSA also said 161,720 hectares, or 18.6 percent of areas intended to be planted with rice, have materialized.
Data from the PSA showed that palay production in 2017 expanded by 9.36 percent to 19.27 MMT, from the previous year’s 17.62 MMT. The increase was attributed to the expansion in harvest areas and the availability of water supply during the cropping period.