ILOILO City – Production of corn and palay in Western Visayas has declined by 4.5 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, in 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) 6 reported.
The total corn production in the region in 2023 was estimated at 329,148.8 metric tons (MT), which was lower than the previous year’s corn production of 344,460.6 MT.
Similarly, the region’s recorded total area harvested was 104,671.7 hectares, 6.5 percent lower than the area harvested in 2022.
By corn type, total white corn production in 2023 was 76,682.9 MT, which decreased by 6.9 percent in comparison with the previous year’s production. Likewise, total yellow corn production was 252,465.8 MT, which was 3.7 percent lower than 2022’s production.
Among the provinces in the region, Negros Occidental has the highest share with 41.4 percent of the region’s corn production for 2023, followed by Iloilo (34.8 percent) and Capiz (19.3 percent). Antique, Aklan, and Guimaras had shares of 3.2 percent, 1.0 percent, and 0.4 percent of the region’s corn production, respectively.
For palay, meanwhile, the total production of the region in 2023 was estimated at 2,263,158.3 MT, or 58,435.4 MT less compared with the 2022 output.
Likewise, the total area harvested in 2023 is estimated at 666,296.0 hectares, which is 2.2 percent lower than last year.
Total irrigated palay production in 2023 was estimated at 1,115.6 thousand MT, which increased by 0.4 percent in comparison with the previous year’s production of 1,111.18 thousand MT. On the other hand, the total rainfed palay production fell by 5.2 percent, or from 1,210.4 thousand MT in 2022 to 1,147.5 thousand MT in 2023.
Among provinces in the region, Iloilo shared 47.1 percent of the total palay production for 2023. This was followed by Negros Occidental (21.5 percent), Capiz (14.3 percent), Antique (11.0 percent), and Aklan (3.8 percent). Guimaras had the least proportion, with 2.4 percent of the region’s palay production. (PSA)/PN
