Q3 palay output likely exceeded expectations – PSA

MANILA, Philippines - Palay (unhusked rice) production in the third quarter of the year likely exceeded production expectations on increased yield per hectare, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday.

In its latest palay and corn production forecast, PSA said palay production in the July to September period may have reached 3.01 million metric tons (MT), 0.05 percent higher than the earlier forecast of 2.99 million MT.

This expected production level, however, is 10.5 percent below the output of 3.36 million MT produced in the same period last year.

The harvest area is expected to have contracted to 774, 120 hectares from 774, 670 hectares.

The yield per hectare, however, is expected to have increased to 3.89 MT per hectare from 3.86 MT per hectare on increased water supply in Isabela, Iloilo, Laguna and Cagayan. In Davao, Sultan Kudarat and Mountain Province, the increase in yield per hectare may be traced to lesser incidences of pests and diseases.

Palay output is expected to have decreased in Camarines Sur, Cavite, Quezon, Negros Occidental, Batangas and Palawan as cultivation areas were still reeling from the onslaught of Typhoon Glenda in July. Lower palay output is also expected in North Cotabato due to the occurrence of flashfloods as well as in Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Sur because of insufficient irrigation during the reproductive stage. Rat and bird infestation in Leyte is also expected to decrease palay output in the province.

The average farmgate price of palay continued its downtrend in the second to third week of October.

The average farmgate price of palay placed at P20.05 per kilogram during the Oct. 8 to 14 monitoring period was down by 1.48 percent from the previous week’s level. Year-on-year, however, this was higher by 16.23 percent.

The lower farmgate prices of palay resulted to the continued downturn in the wholesale and retail prices of well-milled and regular-milled rice.

Corn production in the third quarter of the year is expected to have reached 2.38 million MT, 0.6 percent lower than the earlier forecast of 2.40 million MT and 8.3 percent lower than the production level of 2.60 million MT.

The harvest area for corn is seen to have declined during the period by 0.1 percent to 863,738 hectares from 864, 832 hectares. Yield per hectare may have fallen to 2.76 MT per hectare from the previous quarter’s forecast of 2.77 MT per hectare.

Harvest was expected to have fallen in Camarines Sur, Masbate, Quezon, Cavite and Laguna as corn production areas are still reeling from the devastation caused by Typhoon Glenda.

In Negros Oriental, harvest may have contracted due to hot weather in the vegetative stage of the crop. Rat infestation and intense heat during the reproductive and maturing stages of the crop may have resulted in reduced output in Agusan Sur. In South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, the decrease in production could be traced to frequent heavy rains.

The average farmgate price of yellow corn grain in the second to third week of October dropped by 0.60 percent to P12.79 per kilogram from the previous week’s quotation.

A hike of 0.87 percent, meanwhile, was seen in the farmgate price of white corn grain week-on-week at 13.42 per kilogram. Compared with last year, the price fell by 6.46 percent.