Palay harvest seen reaching over 7.4 M MT this quarter

The country's palay output this quarter may grow by 2.8 percent year-on-year to over 7.4 million metric tons (MT) on the back of higher planted area, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

- By JASPER EMMANUEL ARCALAS

In its latest production estimate as of Nov. 1, the PSA projected that palay output from October to December would reach 7.44 million MT from 7.24 million MT in the same period last year.

"On the other hand, the updated estimate of palay production for the period October to December as of Nov. 1 reflected a decrease of 2.3 percent from its estimate of 7.61 million MT as of Oct. 1," the PSA said.

The PSA said the estimated harvest area based on standing crop for the fourth quarter would expand by 2.8 percent to 1.8 million hectares from 1.75 million hectares in the same period last year.