BAS projects 4.1% hike in palay output

MANILA, Philippines - Palay production is seen to grow by 4.1 percent in the first quarter of next year on expectations of an abundant harvest in major rice producing regions Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and Caraga region, according to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS).

In its rice and corn situation outlook, BAS said that palay production for January to March 2013 may reach 4.16 million metric tons, or 4.1 percent higher that the 3.99 million MT in the same period this year.

BAS said that based on farmers’ planting intentions, harvest area may expand 4.7 percent from 1.08 million hectares in 2012 to 1.13 million hectares in 2013.

Yield per hectare, however, may drop 0.5 percent to 3.67 MT from 3.70 MT.

For 2012, BAS projects palay output at 17.98 million MT, or 7.7 percent higher than the 2011 output of 16.68 million MT because of expansion in harvest area and yield improvement.

Palay production in October to December 2012, meanwhile, is expected to increase by 9.2 percent from last year’s production output of 5.94 million MT to 6.49 million MT.

This could be primarily attributed to the sufficient water supply and recovery from the adverse effects of typhoons Pedring and Quiel on palay crop last year.

Corn production, on the other hand, is expected to increase to 2.03 million MT in January to March 2013, from 2.02 million MT in 2012.

Corn harvest area is seen to increase by 3.9 percent to about 676,500 hectares, from 651,000 hectares. Yield, however, may drop from 3.10 MT per hectare in 2012 to 3.00 MT per hectare in 2013.

Farmers in the Ilocos Region intend to cultivate more areas due to increasing demand from corn processors and expected availability of subsidized seeds.