THE Philippines may increase its rice import target by as much as 850,000 metric tons for next year following massive devastation brought by typhoons, the Department of Agriculture said on Thursday.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said the import target for 2012 will range between 500,000 MT and 850,000
MT—enough to augment losses incurred from four typhoons that hit the country in the second half of this year.
“Pwede po natin maintain ang initial target natin na 500,000 MT for importation ng rice, pero pwede din po itong tumaas depende sa final report ng BAS sa damages,” Alcala said, referring to the Bureau of Agriculture Statistics.
“For sure, di po ito tataas sa one million MT,” he said.
The DA chief said the import target is not yet official, adding that discussions await with the National Food Authority Council by the end of the month.
Earlier, the BAS lowered its full-year agriculture production outlook to about 3 to 3.5 percent from the earlier forecast of 4.5 to 5 percent growth, following massive devastation brought by several typhoons that hit the country in the second half of 2011.
Alcala said the four typhoons—Falcon, Mina, Juaning and Pedring—severely affected fourth quarter crop production.
In a report, BAS lowered its palay production forecast for 2011 to 16.68 million MT, 5.7 percent higher than the 15.77 million MT recorded in 2010, but lower than the earlier forecast of 17.3 million MT for 2011 under the rice self-sufficiency program.
Based on records, rice production for the July to December period may drop by 0.6 percent to 9.10 million MT from 9.15 million MT in 2010.
“This can be attributed to the adverse effects of typhoons Mina, Juaning, Pedring and Quiel on standing crops,” the BAS said.
Palay production for the fourth quarter, based on standing crop, indicated a decrease of 8.8 percent from last year’s 6.50 million MT to 5.93 million MT this year.
Palay losses arising from typhoons Pedring and Quiel reached 760,207 MT, representing 11.7 percent of the total 6.5 million MT of expected rice harvest for the fourth quarter.
Of the total P11.7 billion typhoon damage to the agriculture sector, P11 billion involved palay alone.
In the first nine months of the year, Philippine farm output grew by 4.28 percent driven by the strong performance of the crop subsector, before typhoons hit the country.
MT—enough to augment losses incurred from four typhoons that hit the country in the second half of this year.
“Pwede po natin maintain ang initial target natin na 500,000 MT for importation ng rice, pero pwede din po itong tumaas depende sa final report ng BAS sa damages,” Alcala said, referring to the Bureau of Agriculture Statistics.
“For sure, di po ito tataas sa one million MT,” he said.
The DA chief said the import target is not yet official, adding that discussions await with the National Food Authority Council by the end of the month.
Earlier, the BAS lowered its full-year agriculture production outlook to about 3 to 3.5 percent from the earlier forecast of 4.5 to 5 percent growth, following massive devastation brought by several typhoons that hit the country in the second half of 2011.
Alcala said the four typhoons—Falcon, Mina, Juaning and Pedring—severely affected fourth quarter crop production.
In a report, BAS lowered its palay production forecast for 2011 to 16.68 million MT, 5.7 percent higher than the 15.77 million MT recorded in 2010, but lower than the earlier forecast of 17.3 million MT for 2011 under the rice self-sufficiency program.
Based on records, rice production for the July to December period may drop by 0.6 percent to 9.10 million MT from 9.15 million MT in 2010.
“This can be attributed to the adverse effects of typhoons Mina, Juaning, Pedring and Quiel on standing crops,” the BAS said.
Palay production for the fourth quarter, based on standing crop, indicated a decrease of 8.8 percent from last year’s 6.50 million MT to 5.93 million MT this year.
Palay losses arising from typhoons Pedring and Quiel reached 760,207 MT, representing 11.7 percent of the total 6.5 million MT of expected rice harvest for the fourth quarter.
Of the total P11.7 billion typhoon damage to the agriculture sector, P11 billion involved palay alone.
In the first nine months of the year, Philippine farm output grew by 4.28 percent driven by the strong performance of the crop subsector, before typhoons hit the country.
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