June 3, 2008

 

Philippine H1 corn production seen up by 20 percent

   

  

Philippine corn harvest in the first six months of the year may increase 20 percent to 3.29 million tonnes from 2.75 million tonnes on-year due to a robust output in the first quarter and better yield forecasts for the second quarter, according to the Department of Agriculture.

 

Corn production in Northern Mindanao, SOCCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato-Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Saranggani-General Santos City), Western Visayas and Cagayan Valley rose 20 percent to 541,000 tonnes. On the other hand, acreage increased by 9 percent or 90,000 hectares while output rose 10 percent on a per-hectare yield basis to 0.27 MT per hectare.

 

A report by the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani Corn Program of the department said corn production in the first three months reached 1.99 million tonnes, adding that it forecast output in the second quarter to hit 1.3 million tonnes.

 

Corn harvest in the second quarter is expected to be 20 percent higher than the original target of 1.09 million tonnes set by the department, said GMA-Corn director Dennis Araullo.

 

Araullo said the dramatic increment in the first quarter was brought about mainly by the increased harvests in yellow corn at 1.51 million tonnes, indicating a growth rate of 29 percent or an additional 341,000 tonnes.

 

White corn production in the first three months slid 10 percent or 53,000 tonnes to 482,000 tonnes year-on-year.

 

Araullo added the positive gain in the first quarter was largely contributed by production increases in Northern Mindanao, SOCCSKSARGEN and Western Visayas, which accounted for 82 percent combined of the total production increment for the period.

 

Cagayan Valley remained the top producer in the first quarter despite the delay in harvests, which skidded in the first half of April.

 

He attributed the setback to delayed planting in Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya due to continuous rains in the first two weeks of December last year, and prolonged maturity of corn because of the cold spell that lasted up to the first week of March.

 

Areas planted and harvested for the first three months of 2008 reached 678,000 hectares, up 5.4 percent on year.

 

High productivity of yellow corn and its good market price encouraged farmers and other stakeholders to plant or invest more. As a result, white corn areas were even planted to yellow corn in some parts of Mindanao, according to Araullo.

 

He noted that the average yield also increased 11 percent from 2.65 tonnes per hectare last year to 2.94 tonnes a hectare in the first quarter this year after more areas were planted to hybrid and certified open-pollinated varieties (OPV) seeds.

 

The increase, he said, is "an offshoot of the continuous subsidies for hybrid and OPV seeds plus microbial fertilizer under the GMA Corn Program."