April 2, 2004

Philippines Corn Production Up In First Quarter

Corn production in the Philippines rose 12.8 % in the first quarter this year to 1.526 million MT, up from 1.353 million MT in the same period last year.

Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. said the gains were achieved despite a dry spell in some of the country's grain-producing regions.

Corn hectarage went up 5.7 percent to 634,602 hectares from 600,378 hectares while the yield per hectare improved by 6.7 percent to 2.4 MT from 2.25 MT in 2003.

"We're improving our crop productivity due to farmers' increasing use of hybrid and certified seed varieties, proper fertilizer and other input application," Lorenzo said.

Lorenzo said the growth trend could be sustained throughout the year, bolstering hopes the agriculture sector will grow by 3.5 percent to four percent this year.

"The trend is encouraging, we are sticking to our targets," Lorenzo said.