Paddy rice output could be lowest in three years

THE GOVERNMENT said on Wednesday that it expects the country’s paddy rice output to hit 17.91 million metric tons (MT) in 2016 — the lowest in three years and below a July forecast of 18.135 million MT — due to crop losses from an El Niño dry spell that began in mid-2015 and typhoons.

The Philippines, one of the world’s biggest rice importers, could buy another 250,000 MT of rice in addition to the 250,000 MT purchased recently from Vietnam and Thailand, if it sees a need to boost state buffer stocks.

The latest forecast from the Philippine Statistics Authority for output this year — as given in the agency’s October Rice And Corn Situation and Outlook Report — is 1.3% lower than a 2015 harvest of 18.15 million MT, which followed record production of 18.97 million MT in 2014.

Unmilled rice output this quarter is forecast to edge up 0.33% from last year to 7.3 million MT, following a 16.35% annual increase in the third quarter.

The same report gave a 4.42 million MT projection for the first quarter of 2017, 12.27% up from the 3.93 million MT actually produced in this year’s comparable three months. The forecast, is based on “farmers’ planting intentions” and will ride on a 7.53% expansion in harvest area and use of high-yielding varieties.

Production of corn, the country’s second staple, is expected to total 7.26 million MT this year, 3.39% less than 2015’s 7.52 million MT. Next quarter could see an 18.23% year- on-year hike to 2.27 million MT from 1.92 million MT.