MANILA, Philippines — The country’s production of palay (unhusked rice) and corn is seen to increase by a meager 0.49 percent in the first quarter due to the effects of weather disturbances at the tail end of last year.
Based on the latest crops outlook of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), palay production for January to March 2019 will increase to 4.64 million metric tons (MT).
The PSA projection is lower than the Department of Agriculture’s forecast of 4.7 million MT.
PSA, however, did not provide the total harvest area expected, as well as the average yield for the period.
Meanwhile, corn production for the quarter is also expected to rise from 2.48 million MT last year.
The seasonally adjusted palay production for the fourth quarter of 2018 rose 0.77 percent to 4.73 million MT.
Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted farm gate price for palay went up nine percent.
The deseasonalized average price for wholesale and retail of rice were P43.84 and P46.97 per kilogram, respectively.
Both price quotations were higher over the previous quarter and the same period in 2017.