PRODUCTION of palay, or unmilled rice, in the fourth quarter is estimated at 7.70 million metric tons (MMT), up 7.6% year-on-year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
In its Palay and Corn estimates report for the quarter, PSA said palay output is expected to exceed the 7.16 million MT recorded a year earlier. However, the estimated total is 0.4% lower than the palay production estimate made in October of 7.73 million MT.
The agency noted that “(h)arvest area may increase by 1.5% from 1.847 million hectares in 2018,” while yield per hectare may fall to 4.11 MT from 4.12 MT.”
At a briefing in November, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said that palay production for 2019 is projected to hit 18.49 million MT. This is 15% short of the country’s annual requirement, which will be supplemented by 3.72 million MT imported rice expected to arrive by the end of 2019.
The corn production estimate in the fourth quarter was 1.68 million MT, down 6.8% from the actual year-earlier total. This is also lower than the estimate issued in October of 1.69 million MT.
“Harvest area may decrease to 561,470 hectares from 611,800 hectares in 2018. Yield per hectare may increase to 3 MT from 2.95 MT,” PSA noted.
In a separate report, the PSA said that the average farmgate price of palay, or unmilled rice, continued to rise in the fourth week of November, increasing 0.3% week-on-week to P15.57 per kilogram (kg).
In its weekly palay and corn price update, the average wholesale price of well-milled rice fell 0.1% week-on-week to P37.30 per kg. Retail prices were stable at P41.56.
The average wholesale price of regular-milled rice decreased 0.3% week-on-week to P33.12 per kg, while retail prices dropped 0.2% to P36.67.
Palay prices have been on a downtrend since early 2019, following the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law, which liberalized imports of rice, with a 35% tariff levied on Southeast Asian grain.
On a year-on-year basis, the palay price in the fourth week of November fell 22.3%.
The average farmgate price of yellow corn grain fell 0.5% week-on-week to P11.90 per kg. The average wholesale price fell 0.3% to P20.96. The retail price fell 0.1% to P25.64.
The average farmgate price of white corn grain fell 0.2% week-on-week to P13.31 per kg. The average wholesale price fell 0.9% to P16.95. At retail, prices fell 0.3% to P26.70. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
