To recall, crop losses and food inflation worries have prompted the government to approve the rice tariffication law.

Unfavorable weather has compelled the PSA to lower its palay production estimates for the third quarter of 2019.

Extreme weather brought about by typhoons and droughts is expected to reduce local production of unhusked rice or palay in the third quarter of 2019, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

As a result, palay output in the third quarter is estimated to reach 3.057 million metric tons (MT). The PSA’s initial forecast in July was 4.063 MT.

Likewise, the PSA said the estimated production of palay is now 4.3 percent lower than the actual 3.196 million MT recorded in the July-to-September quarter last year.

The forecast further shows the harvest area has likewise fallen by 11 percent to 723,950 hectares.

Yield per hectare, on the other hand, may have increased by 7.5 percent to 4.17 MT from the previous 3.88 MT.

As of 19 September, 84.5 percent of the crop of more than 70,000 hectares had already been harvested.

Of the overall standing crop areas, 64 percent or 1.56 million hectares were at the vegetative stage, 25 percent at the reproductive stage and 11 percent at the maturing stage.

Meanwhile, 48 percent or 915,720 hectares of perceived harvest area for October to December have already been planted.

To recall, crop losses and food inflation worries have prompted the government to approve the Rice Tariffication Law, which allows unlimited rice imports as long as traders pay the 35 percent tariff duties.

Mirroring the downward trend of rice production, corn output forecast for the third quarter was also cut by 0.1 percent to 2.76 million MT from the earlier projection of 2.77 million MT.

Harvest area for corn, however, is expected to increase to 873,450 hectares while yield per hectare is likewise seen to grow by 3.16 million MT.

Of the updated standing crop of 127,530 hectares, 15 percent had been harvested.

Currently, the Philippines has about 952,300 hectares — 39 percent of which were at the reproductive stage, 36 percent at the maturing stage, and the remaining 25 percent at the vegetative stage.