April 30, 2008

Philippine corn yield up 27 percent in Q1

Philippine corn output in the first quarter of this year soared by 27.3 percent to 2.17 million tonnes, exceeding government estimate of 2.14 million tonnes, agriculture officials said Wednesday.

The robust harvest was attributed by Philippine officials to the increase of corn acreage and more planting of higher-yielding yellow corn than white corn, Reuters reported.

The area harvested for corn in the first quarter rose to 711,000 hectares, up about 10.5 percent from last year.