MANILA, Philippines – Palay (unmilled rice) production is expected to be lower this year because of the combined effects of the prevailing dry spell and the destruction inflicted by a series of typhoons that visited the country in the second semester of the year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
In its latest Rice and Corn Outlook, PSA said palay production is expected to reach 18.3 million metric tons (MT) this year, 3.54 percent below the 2014 output of 18.97 million MT.
PSA attributed the expected production downtrend to the adverse effects of the El Niño phenomenon and the onslaught of Typhoons Egay and Ineng during the July to September cropping period and the damage inflicted by Typhoon Lando to standing crops this quarter.
Harvest area for palay is seen to contract by 1.58 percent to 4.66 million hectares this year.
Yield per hectare is likewise expected to drop by 1.99 percent to 3.92 MT.
PSA said probable reductions in production are expected in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Central Luzon, Bicol region and Caraga.
Based on the farmers’ planting program, palay production could increase by 0.31 percent to 4.38 million MT in the first quarter of 2016, largely due to the 1.15 percent expansion in harvest area.
The average yield per hectare, however, may decrease to 3.77 MT in anticipation of the adverse effects of El Niño.
The government is planning to import another 1.3 million MT within the first quarter of next year. This would be on top of the 500,000 MT contracted for arrival in the first quarter of 2016.
The additional imports are meant to blunt the effect of the prevailing dry spell to rice supply and prices.
Corn production, meanwhile is expected to decline by 2.8 percent to 7.55 million MT this year due to the contraction of harvest area to 2.57 million hectares from 2.61 million hectares in 2014.
The average yield per hectare is forecast fall to 2.94 MT from 2.98 MT last year.
Reductions in output are expected in Bicol region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Caraga.
Based on farmers’ planting intentions, corn production in the first quarter of 2016 may increase by 0.48 percent to 2.38 million MT from 2.37 million MT last year.
Higher outputs are expected in Soccsksargen, Ilocos region, Davao region, and Northern Mindanao.
PSA said farmers in Soccsksargen intend to plant early to avoid the brunt of the dry spell during the summer. In Ilocos Region, farmers are shifting to corn because of availability of seeds.
Farmers in Davao and Northern Mindanao are also shifting to palay from banana and cassava because of the availability of seeds.