PRODUCTION of palay, or unmilled rice, fell 2% year on year to 4.69 million metric tons (MT) in the first quarter, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The PSA said first quarter output missed its projection of 4.82 million MT, based on the standing crop as of March 1.
It added that the harvest from irrigated areas was 3.6 million MT, while rainfed palay production was 1.09 million MT.
The region with the top palay production was Central Luzon with 775 thousand MT, followed by the Cagayan Valley with 754 thousand MT.
The Central Luzon and Western Visayas palay harvests during the quarter fell 11% and 3%, respectively. Palay production in the Cagayan Valley rose 15%.
The Department of Agriculture’s official view of palay output this year is that it should not fall below 20 million MT. In 2023, palay production was 20.06 million MT.
Corn production was 2.53 million MT in the quarter, up 1% from the same period last year.
Yellow corn production rose 2% to 2.08 million MT.
It added that white corn output slipped 5% to 445 thousand MT for the period. — Adrian H. Halili
