Q3 rice output up 10.2%
Reuters
First Posted 13:39:00 11/11/2008
Filed Under: Economy and Business and Finance, Agriculture, Food
MANILA, Philippines -- Unmilled rice output in the third quarter rose 10.2 percent from a year earlier to 3.467 million tons, with production for the current quarter likely to fall 1.1 percent, according to official data.
Unmilled rice output in the fourth quarter would likely reach 6.29 million tons against 6.36 million tons a year ago, based on official documents from the agriculture department.
That would bring full-year output of the country's staple to 16.88 million tons, 2.4 percent below the government's forecast of 17.3 million tons, based on Reuters calculations. High fertilizer cost for most of 2008 has hit production.
The government is expected to release third-quarter farm output data later this week.
Manila also forecast production in first half 2009 to reach 7.9 million tons, up 11 percent from 7.12 million tons in the same period in 2008, the documents showed.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said last week that rice output in the fourth quarter could drop from the year-earlier level because some farmers advanced their planting to the third quarter due to good weather conditions.
The Philippines, the world's biggest rice importer this year, aims to boost annual output to 21.58 million tons by 2013 to attain self-sufficiency in rice.
Unmilled rice output must increase by an average of at least 5.0 percent annually between 2009 and 2013 to achieve rice self-sufficiency, given annual population growth of 2.0 percent, the government's updated rice master plan said.
The country's rice production has been growing at an average 3.7 percent annually. The plan requires P71 billion ($1.47 billion) over the next five years mainly for upgrading irrigation systems and new technology to raise output.
The rice action plan by an inter-agency committee led by the Department of Agriculture also aims to save between $1.8 billion to $2.0 billion in rice imports over the next five years.
The Philippines imported a record 2.3 million tons this year, helping drive benchmark Thai rice above $1,000 per ton in April, but government officials have said imports may be cut to 1.5 million tons in 2009.
The country's 90 million people consume around 33,000 tons of rice daily, or more than 12 million tons a year.
Under the updated plan, output of unmilled rice is forecast to increase by 5.8 percent to 17.81 million tons in 2009, by 4.6 percent in 2010, and around 5.0 percent annually from 2011 to 2013.
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