October 21, 2010

Typhoon's damages to Philippine crops reach US$36 million

Typhoon Juan's (international codename, Megi) damages to Philippine corn and palay crops in Regions 2 and 3 has reached PHP1.556 billion (US$35.92 million) as of yesterday morning, the Department of Agriculture said.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Salvador Salacup said crop damage figures for Region 1 have not been validated and should not be added to the initial crop damage.

So far, corn damage for Region 2 amounted to 33,000 tonnes with a value of PHP396 million (US$9.14 million).

Salacup said at least 90% of corn crops have already been harvested. There are still no damage reports for vegetable crops and fisheries due to fallen communication lines.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) in Manila said it had no figures yet on the total area of farms affected by the typhoon.