PH corn production up 4.66% in 1st quarter

“This was attributed to the early harvest in Cagayan Valley, as farmers planted earlier than usual due to the onset of rainfall and enough soil moisture content during cropping period,” the PSA noted in its report. (PNA photo)

MANILA — The Philippines’ corn production continued to grow in the first quarter, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported over the weekend.

The country’s corn rose 4.66 percent to 2.48 million metric tons (MT) in the first quarter of 2018 from 2.37 million MT in the same period in 2017.

In 2016, corn harvest nationwide weighed 1.92 million MT in the same period.

“This was attributed to the early harvest in Cagayan Valley, as farmers planted earlier than usual due to the onset of rainfall and enough soil moisture content during cropping period,” the PSA noted in its report.

“Expansion in harvest areas in Central Luzon and Calabarzon was due to technical assistance provided by the Department of Agriculture through the Farmers’ Field School and higher demand and buying price from the feed millers,” PSA added.

The agency also cited reports in the Zamboanga Peninsula on newly opened areas planted with yellow corn due to “good buying price and high demand” for the crop as a staple food.

“Availability of high-yielding varieties of seeds and more usage of fertilizer, coupled with favorable weather conditions were cited in
Central Luzon, Mimaropa, and Soccsksargen,” the PSA added.

The average January-March farm gate price of corn increased by 22.13 percent to PHP13.91 per kilogram (kg) this year from PHP11.39 per kilogram in 2017.

Nationwide corn production helped a slight 1.79 percent improvement in crops sub-sector during the January-March 2018 period.

Crops sub-sector accounted for 53.76 percent of total Philippine agricultural output for the period, the PSA said. Livestock, poultry, and fisheries sub-sectors accounted for 16.96 percent, 15.93 percent, and 13.36 percent, respectively.

Total Philippine agricultural output grew by 1.47 percent in the first quarter this year.