MANILA, Philippines — Production of the seasonally adjusted palay (unhusked rice) went up by 1.5 percent in the first quarter due to improvement in harvest areas nationwide.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), palay output inched up 1.48 percent to 4.88 million metric tons (MT).
“The improvement in production was credited to the increment in harvest area and yield as a result of the availability of financial and technical assistance from the government and private sectors, early harvest in anticipation of higher trading price and continuous use of high yielding varieties of seeds,” PSA said.
The improved palay output was largely contributed by Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Davao Region.
The farmgate price for palay in the first three months rose by four percent.
Wholesale and retail prices for rice improved by two percent each from their respective levels in the previous quarter.
First quarter’s deseasonalized farmgate price for palay was above the previous year’s quotation by 7.65 percent.
Wholesale and retail prices for rice were also higher by 4.31 percent and 3.11 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, farm gate prices of paddy rice increased nine percent as of the end of April.
In its regular update on palay, rice and corn prices, PSA said the average price of palay went up to P20.71 per kilogram. On a weekly basis, it decreased by 0.1 percent.
The average wholesale price of well-milled rice rose seven percent to P41.16 per kg year-on-year and inched up 0.22 percent week-on-week.
The average retail price of well-milled rice increased by six percent to P43.80 per kg.
The wholesale price of regular-milled rice went up eight percent to P37.60 per kg. Its average retail price also increased eight percent to P40.03 per kg.