PALAY (unmilled rice) production is estimated to have declined 8.6% during the second quarter, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
In a report, the PSA said that the palay harvest is estimated at 3.88 million metric tons (MMT), which if realized, would fall short of the 4.25 MMT in actual output a year earlier.
The PSA’s outlook is based on the standing rice crop as of June 1.
The Department of Agriculture is projecting palay output to rise to 20.44 MMT this year, against 20.06 MMT in actual production in 2023.
The PSA said that total harvest area likely decreased 7.2% year on year to 891,770 hectares.
It added that about 86.6% of the crops as of June 1 has been harvested, equivalent to about 3.16 MMT.
It said that yield per hectare may have declined by 1.4% to 4.36 MT.
“Of the 119.870 hectares of standing palay yet to be harvested, 1.4% were in the reproductive stage and 98.6% were in the maturing stage,” it added.
Separately, the PSA said the national rice inventory was 2.16 MMT as of June 1.
It reported that rice stocks rose 19% from a year earlier.
The PSA said that rice inventories from the National Food Authority (NFA) rose 62.5% followed by stocks held by commercial traders, which were 56.7%.
On the other hand, it noted a decline in rise held by households of 21.3%.
“Of this month’s total rice stocks, 61.4% were held by the commercial sector, 32.2% by households, and 6.4% NFA depositories,” it added.
Meanwhile, the PSA said that corn production likely dropped 19.3% to 1.19 MMT during the second quarter.
Corn stocks as of June 1 was estimated at 750,760 MT, declining 15.3% from a year earlier.
Corn stocks held by commercial traders rose 7.5%, while household stocks fell 15.6%.
About 93.6% of this month’s corn stocks were held by commercial traders, with the remaining 6.4% held by households. — Adrian H. Halili