Palay farmgate price rises 10.4% in February

THE farmgate price of dry palay (unmilled rice) rose 10.4% year on year in February to a national average of P22.47 per kilo, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), citing preliminary data.

The highest farmgate price for dry palay in February was reported in the Cagayan Valley at P28.12 per kilo, up 44.3% from a year earlier. The year-on-year growth in palay prices in the region was also the fastest on record for February.

The lowest average farmgate price in February was recorded in the Caraga region at P17.96, down 13.2% from a year earlier. The decline in the region’s average palay price was the fastest on record for the month.

In Central Luzon, the country’s top rice-producing region, the average farmgate price of dry palay was P25.86 per kilo, up 32.9% from a year earlier.

In a separate report, the PSA said palay production is projected to fall 7.1% year-on-year to 4.36 million metric tons (MT) in the first quarter, based on standing crops as of Feb. 1.

This projection for palay would represent a 1.9% downgrade from its January estimate of 4.45 million MT.

Corn output is also projected to decrease 3.4% year on year to 2.32 million MT in the first quarter, based on standing crops as of Feb. 1.

The corn projection is a 1.7% downgrade from the January estimate of 2.36 million MT. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel