El Niño cuts palay output by 5% in H1

Palay production in the first half contracted by more than five percent to a four-year low due to lower farm yield as some farmers delayed planting amid threats brought about by the El Niño phenomenon.

- JASPER EMMANUEL ARCALAS

Domestic palay or unhusked rice output in the January to June period declined by 5.5 percent to 8.53 million metric tons from 9.026 million MT, latest Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed.

The latest output is the lowest first-half production recorded by the country since 2020 when production fell to 8.386 million MT, based on PSA data.

PSA data indicated that both production of irrigated and rainfed palay during the six-month period contracted on an annual basis.

Irrigated palay output reached 6.916 million MT, down by 5.44 percent from 7.314 million MT recorded volume in the first half last year. Rainfed palay production,meanwhile, shrank by 5.7 percent year-on-year to 1.613 million MT from 1.711 million MT.