PRODUCTION of palay, or unmilled rice, for the second quarter was estimated at 4.24 million metric tons (MT) by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), up 0.3% from a previous estimate made in April.
In a report, the PSA said its new estimate was based on the standing crop as of May 1.
PSA said the projected palay output for the second quarter, if borne out, will represent a 2.9% increase from the 4.13 million MT produced a year earlier.
Estimated harvest area for the quarter is believed to have fallen 0.8% year on year to 948,679 hectares, pointing to a yield per hectare gain of 3.5% to 4.47 MT.
The PSA said 621,386 hectares of standing crop, equivalent to 2.90 million MT, had been harvested as of May 1.
“Of the total area for standing palay, at 635,154 hectares, which is to be harvested for July to September 2021, 33.6% were at the vegetative stage, 34% at the reproductive stage, and 32.4% at the maturing stage,” PSA said.
Meanwhile, the PSA said corn production for the second quarter is estimated at 1.453 million MT, a 0.1% increase from its previous estimate of 1.452 million MT, also made in April.
The revised projection would represent 7.2% increase from the 1.36 million MT of corn produced in the same period in 2020.
Total harvestable area for corn during the period is thought to have increased 4.2% year on year to 408,026 hectares. Yield per hectare for the period is estimated at 3.56 MT, up 2.9% from a year earlier.
The PSA said 202,434 hectares of standing crop, equivalent to 784,748 MT of corn, had been harvested as of May 1.
“Of the total area of 484,119 hectares of standing crop for the July to September 2021 harvests, 58.9% were at the vegetative stage, 22.4% at the reproductive stage, and 18.7% at the maturing stage,” PSA said.
For 2021, the Department of Agriculture set a target of 20.47 million MT for palay output against actual production of 19.44 million MT in 2020. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave