PRODUCTION

The seasonally adjusted palay production for January-March 2018 was 4.88 million metric tons lower than the 4.81 million metric tons output in the last quarter of 2017 or by 1.48 percent (Table 1).

The improvement in production were credited to the increment in harvest area and yield as a result of the availability of financial and technical assistance from the government and private sectors, early harvest in anticipation of higher trading price and continuous use of high yielding varieties of seeds. These were noted by Cagayan Valley, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, and Davao Region.

Figure 1. Quarterly Palay PRoduction, Philippines, 2011-2018

Year on year, this quarter’s performance when deseasonalized was up by 2.72 percent or 129 thousand metric tons (Table 1).

Figure 2. Quarterly Farmgate Prices of Palay, Philippines, 2011-2018

PRICES

The seasonally adjusted farmgate price for palay in the first quarter of 2018 increased by 4.01 percent from the last quarter of 2018 level (Table 1). In the same way, wholesale and retail prices for rice rose by 2.02 percent and 2.21 percent from their corresponding levels in the previous quarter, respectively (Tables 1 and 2).

Figure 3. Quarterly Wholesale Prices of Rice, Philippines, 2011-2018

This quarter’s deseasonalized farmgate price for palay was above the previous year’s quotation by 7.65 percent. Wholesale and retail prices for rice were higher by 4.31 percent and 3.11 percent from the previous year’s levels, respectively (Tables 1 and 2).

Figure 4. Quarterly Retail Prices of Rice, Philippines, 2011-2018

ROMEO S. RECIDE
Assistant Secretary
Deputy National Statistician
Sectoral Statistics Office