September 17, 2007

Philippines' July-September corn forecast up 13 percent

Philippine corn production between July and September will likely reach 2.50 million tonnes, up 13 percent from a year earlier despite poor rains, a senior agriculture official said Friday (September 14).

However, the forecast is down 200,000 tonnes from the department's original production target of 2.7 million tonnes, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Dennis Araullo said.

Nevertheless, production in the October to December period is likely to make up for any output losses in the third quarter, Araullo said.

Production of the yellow grain in the last quarter of the year is projected to reach up to 1.5 million tonnes, 25 percent up from a year earlier.

"Production in the October-December period is already safe from the dry spell. Hopefully, no strong typhoon would damage our crops in the fourth quarter," he said.

The significant increase in projected fourth-quarter output is because an additional 35,000 hectares has been planted with corn.

"We're confident we can achieve full year production of 6.7 to 6.8 million tonnes, barring any strong typhoon," Araullo said.

Corn is a major component in livestock and poultry feeds.