Philippines : Rice output down 18% in Q3 as harvest area shrinks
The Philippines’ paddy rice production fell 17.8% year-on-year to 3.08 million tonnes in Q3 2026, as harvested area contracted. The Agriculture Department warned that high fertilizer and fuel costs, alongside El Niño, could reduce 2026 output by 1 million tonnes to 18.67 million tonnes, the lowest since 2016.
The country’s rice output tumbled by nearly 18 percent in the third quarter on the back of a shrinking harvest area, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Data from the PSA showed that paddy rice production fell by 17.8 percent to 3.08 million metric tons (MMT) in the July to September period, from last year’s 3.75 MMT.
The harvest area also contracted by 17.6 percent to 755,369 metric tons (MT) from the 916,772 MT recorded in the same period last year.
PSA data also indicated that palay production in irrigated and rainfed farms posted year-on-year declines in the reference month.
The production in irrigated farms slid by 15.82 percent, reaching 2.35 MMT from the previous year’s 2.8 MMT. Rainfed farms produced 733,571 MT, 23.45 percent lower than the 958,322 MT recorded in 2025.
Of the volume produced, paddy rice output from Cagayan Valley led among the regions with 375,396 MT. This was followed by Central Luzon, the country’s rice granary, with 270,795 MT.
Aside from El Niño ravaging plantations, the surge in input prices could dent this year’s local rice output by 1 MMT, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Rice production stood 19.67 MMT in 2025, based on PSA data.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. attributed the DA’s outlook mainly to strained productivity caused by soaring fertilizer prices, which was triggered by the global oil crisis following the Middle East war.
“Technically, we’re seeing about 1 MMT of palay less than last year. [Soaring] fertilizer prices were the biggest factor. The rising fuel prices really affected productivity this year,” he recently told reporters.
“What happens is farmers would apply less fertilizer, so there’d be less productivity. Some also lost their intention to plant, because it’s too expensive and they don’t have enough money to invest.”
If the DA’s forecast materializes, output could plunge to 18.67 MMT, the lowest level in 10 years or since the 17.63 MMT in 2016.
To Read more about Rice News continue reading Agriinsite.com
Source : BusinessMirror
