The country’s palay and corn production for the second quarter is projected to record double-digit increases, the latest estimates of the Philippine Statistics Authority.
As of June 1, PSA said second quarter palay or unhusked rice output will likely reach 4.35 million metric tons (MT), up 13 percent from the 3.85 million MT actual output in the same period last year.
The latest PSA estimate also reflects a 0.4 percent from the April forecast of 4.34 million MT.
Improved weather and increased government interventions, particularly the more aggressive palay procurement of the National Food Authority helped drive a projected 9.2 percent expansion of harvest area to 972,754 hectares, while yield per hectare is expected to improve to 4.47 MT from 4.32 MT.
Around 864,414 hectares, or 90 percent, of the updated palay harvest area had already been harvested, resulting in 3.89 million MT of output.
Corn production is also projected to climb by 27 percent to 1.487 million MT in the second quarter compared to 1.17 million MT in the same period of 2024. However, the latest figure is 0.1 percent lower than the April estimate 1.489 million MT forecast.
Corn harvest area is expected to expand by 16.1 percent to 402,726 hectares, with yield per hectare increasing by 9.2 percent to 3.69 MT.
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