PRODUCTION

The deseasonalized palay production for January to March 2020 was 4,506 thousand metric tons, lower by 7.36 percent than the 2019 fourth quarter output of 4,864 thousand metric tons. (Table 1)

Year  on  year, this  quarter’s performance when  deseasonalized was lower by 3.18 percent than the previous year’s same quarter level of 4,654 thousand metric tons. (Table 1)

Figure 1. Quarterly Palay Production, Philippines, 2014-2020

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority, Weekly Cereals and Fertilizer Prices Monitoring (WCFPM)

PRICES

For January to March 2020, the deseasonalized farm gate price of palay at  PhP  16.24  per  kilogram  went  down  by  0.18  percent  from  the preceding quarter’s price of PhP 16.27 per kilogram. This was lower by 17.73 percent than the 2019 first quarter record of  PhP 19.74  per kilogram.

Figure 2. Quarterly Farmgate Prices of Rice, Philippines, 2014-2020

Based on prevailing weekly prices
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority, Weekly Cereals and Fertilizer Prices Monitoring (WCFPM)

For this quarter, the registered wholesale price of rice was PhP  37.48  per  kilogram, lower by 1.47 percent than the preceding quarter’s quotation of PhP 38.04 per kilogram. Likewise, it went down by 9.71 percent from the previous year’s same quarter record of PhP 41.51 per kilogram. (Table 2)

Figure 3. Quarterly Wholesale Prices of Rice, Philippines, 2014-2020

Based on prevailing weekly prices
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority, Weekly Cereals and Fertilizer Prices Monitoring (WCFPM)

The retail price of rice at PhP 41.30 per kilogram for this quarter went down by 1.31 percent and 11.85 percent from its levels in the previous quarter, and previous year’s same quarter record of PhP 41.85 per kilogram and PhP 46.85 per kilogram, respectively. (Table 2)

Figure 4. Quarterly Retail Prices of Rice, Philippines, 2014-2020

Based on weekly prevailing prices
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority, Weekly Cereals and Fertilizer Prices Monitoring (WCFPM)

DENNIS S. MAPA, Ph.D.
Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General