April 29, 2011
 

Philippine 1Q corn output increases

Philippine corn output is foreseen to rise by approximately a fourth in the first quarter of this year, according to the data from the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Based on the Agriculture Corn Programme data, the DA said the country's production is expected to increase by 23.9% to 1.986 million tonnes in the first quarter of 2011 from 1.602 million tonnes in the same period in 2010.

The data also showed that yellow corn production is expected to increase by 26.4% to 1.452 million tonnes from 1.148 million tonnes last year, while white corn production may increase by 17.5% to 533,513 tonnes from 453,913 tonnes previously.

Among the factors affecting corn production were the increase in the area harvested, and the yield per hectare.

Total harvested area increased from 638,731 to 692,113 hectares, while yield improved from 2.51 tonnes to 2.87 tonnes per hectare.

Earlier, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) said that corn production for the January-June 2011 period is forecast at 3.29 million tonnes, up by 36.3% from last year.

BAS said that the increase is a result of a 15.6%, or 150,600 thousand hectares expansion in harvest area and 18% improvement in yield per hectare, which are expected in Cagayan Valley and Socksargen.