‘PHL to cut rice imports due to higher output’
DESPITE the downward revision to the projected rice imports of the Philippines, the country’s purchases in the current market year (MY) will still exceed 2 million metric tons (MMT), according to a Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain) report.
The rice import forecast for the Philippines in MY 2020-2021 was adjusted downward to 2.6 MMT, from 3 MMT, in the Gain report due to expectations of higher unmilled rice output from July 2020 to June 2021.
The Gain report was prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila.
“Post lowers its forecast for MY20/21 rice imports by 13.3 percent [compared to USDA Official] to 2.6 million MT, as increased domestic production will meet a larger share of consumption. Sources note that higher prices for rice from Vietnam, the Philippines’s largest supplier, will likely bring down overall imports,” the report read.
The report hiked its projected milled rice production for the Philippines in MY 2020-2021 by 6.3 percent to 11.7 MMT from its previous estimate of 11 MMT.
However, despite the upward revision, the projection is still 1.9 percent lower than the 11.927 MMT recorded in the previous market year.
It also increased its estimate for total rice harvested area to 4.55 million hectares from 4.45 million hectares. However, the new projected area is 1.87 percent lower than the previous market year’s 4.637 million hectares, according to the report.
“The revised forecast will still mark a decline in area and production compared to MY19/20, as some farmers take advantage of crop diversification programs to grow high-value crops,” the report read.
“Land conversion of rice farms to nonagricultural uses is also expected to continue,” it added.
The country’s unmilled rice production in the third quarter could rise by 16.4 percent to 3.551 MMT, from last year’s 3.051 MMT due to the expansion in harvest area, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
In its latest production forecast report, the PSA revised upward its palay harvest estimate for the July-to-september period from the previous 3.545 MMT.
PSA said harvest area during the third quarter may go up by almost 16 percent to 860,000 hectares, from last year’s 742,870 hectares.
“Yield per hectare may rise to 4.13 metric tons, from 4.11 metric tons in the same period of previous year,” it said in the report published recently.
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar told the Businessmirror via SMS that the “gain” in rice production is a “welcome development.”
Dar attributed the projected increase in rice production to “good weather.”