FAO cuts global rice output target for ’13

The effects of bad weather in the Philippines, China and Pakistan contributed to a reduction of 5 million tons in the projected global rice output for 2013, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.

The United Nations agency said in a statement it had lowered its growth forecast from 1.5 percent to 1.1 percent, with output seen reaching 741.4 million tons of paddy rice or palay—equivalent to 494.2 million tons of milled rice.

“The deterioration of prospects primarily concerned China, Pakistan and the Philippines which were hit, in recent months, by erratic climatic events,” the FAO said.

The Rome-based group noted that storms and typhoons, including Supertyphoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) that struck an important rice-growing area of the Philippines, had damaged or destroyed crops.

The FAO added that while Yolanda’s impact on rice farms was limited because most of the main crop had already been harvested when it ravaged the Visayas and adjacent provinces, the Philippines’ rice output for this year was projected to hit 18 million tons or 900,000 tons less than the 2012 production.

“There are concerns, however, about the impact on the present planting season and beyond, given the losses to human life, the displacement of farming families and loss of agricultural infrastructure, such as tools and machinery,” the FAO said in its latest Rice Market Report.

Even then, the forecast global trade volume for milled rice in 2013 remains at 37.5 million tons, which is a 2-percent increase from the 2012 level.

Moreover, the decline in the anticipated global production is expected to be offset by output growth in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Thailand.

The FAO is currently preparing an appeal for the global community to raise funds that would help rehabilitate Yolanda-hit areas in the Philippines, particularly agricultural areas.

The group launched on Nov. 12 a flash appeal to raise $24 million in funds, but with damage assessment giving a clearer picture of the devastation, the FAO plans to call for a bigger amount.