Higher palay, corn outputs projected this year

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) is projecting higher palay and corn production this year.

According to the BAS, palay (paddy rice) production may reach 7.61 million metric tons (MT) for the first half of this year, 14.9 percent higher than the 6.62 million MT produced in the comparable period last year.

BAS said the increase in production is due to the expansion in harvest area and improvement in yield compared to last year’s conditions when palay production was adversely affected by the El Niño phenomenon.

BAS said the harvest area may increase by 10.2 percent from last year’s record of 1.82 million hectares.

Yield per hectare may further improve to 3.80 metric tons (MT) from 3.64 MT in 2010.

Corn production for the first half of 2011, the BAS said, is expected to reach 3.30 million MT, or 36.8 percent higher than last year’s level of 2.42 million MT.

Harvest area, the BAS said, may expand by 14.3 percent from 967,000 has. in 2010 to 1.10 million has. this year.

Yield is, likewise, expected to improve 19.7 percent, BAS said.

From January to March 2011, palay production hit 4.04 million MT, or 15.6 percent higher than last year’s level of 3.49 million MT.

The higher first quarter harvest was attributed to a 7.2 percent increase in total harvest area from 1.02 million hectares in 2010 to 1.10 million hectares in 2011.

Yield per hectare also improved by 7.8 percent from 3.41 MT last year to 3.68 MT this year.

Cagayan Valley and Western Visayas were the top contributors to the increase in the national palay output during the period, while palay production in Central Luzon contracted by 3.6 percent from last year’s 394,300 MT due to massive rat infestation in the provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Pampanga.

Based on standing crop,the BAS said, palay production for the second quarter may reach 3.57 million MT, or 14.2 percent higher from the 3.13 million MT production last year.

All regions, except Davao, are expected to register production gains ranging from 0.6 percent in CARAGA to 117.8 percent in Western Visayas, the BAS said.

The BAS explained that palay yield in the Davao region would be adversely affected by continuous rain, rat infestation, stem borer, neckrot, tungro and lodging due to strong winds.

Based on farmers’ planting intentions, the third quarter palay output is forecast at 3.49 million MT, 32 percent above last year’s 2.65 million MT as harvest area is expected to expand by 35.8 percent, from 706,000 has. to 958,000 has.

The January-March 2011 corn output reached 1.91 million MT, or 19.5 percent higher compared to the 1.6 million MT produced in the same period last year.