Palay production in La Union went up by 6.02 percent in 2019

The volume of palay production in La Union increased by 6.02 percent in 2019at 169,054 metric tons compared with the production in 2018of 159,450 metric tons. La Union had the least percentage share in terms of palay production among the provinces in Region I. Its share was9.13 percent of the Region’s total volume of palayproduction of 1.85 million metric tons. Pangasinan had the biggest proportion with 59.66 percent share, followed by Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur with 17.81 percent and 13.40 percent shares respectively.

Area harvested for palayincreases by1.17 percent in 2019

The total area harvested for palay in the province in2019(38,363 hectares)increased by 1.17 percent or 444 hectares higher than the 37,919 hectares in 2018. Regionwide,La Union had the least proportion of harvested area for palayin 2019 with a shareof 9.42 percentof the total harvested area in Ilocos Region. Pangasinan had the biggest share with 62.05 percent. The province of Ilocos Sur also exhibited an increase in harvested area for palay from 49,004  hectares in 2018 to 50,154.68 hectares in 2019with a difference of 1,151. 

By ecosystem, the volume of palayproduced from irrigated farms was higher than the volume of production from rainfed farms. In 2019, about 63.67 percent (107,645 metric tons) of the total volume of produced palay in the province was harvested from irrigated farms while the remaining 36.33 percent (61,409 metric tons) was produced from rainfed farms. Palay produced from irrigated and rainfed ecosystems both showed increaseof 4.06 percent and 9.65 percent respectively from the volume of production in 2018.

Similarly, the area harvested from irrigated palay dominated the total palayharvested area in the province with 24,079 hectares in 2019. It shows an increaseof 1.9percentor 450hectares highercompared withthe harvested area in 2018of 23,629 hectares. Rainfed palayharvested areas slightlywent downby 0.04percent or 6 hectareslesser than the 14,290hectares harvested in 2018.

Average yield of palayin La Union increased with 5 percent in 2019

The average yield in metric tons per hectare of all palay in La Union went up by 5 percent in2019 at 4.41 metric tons per hectare compared with the average yield in 2018at4.20 metric tons per hectare. By ecosystem, both irrigated and rainfed palay increased its average yield per hectare. Irrigated palay grewby 2.05 percent from 4.38 metric tons per hectare in 2018 to 4.47 metric tons per hectare in 2019. Likewise, rainfed palayincreased its yield by 9.69 percent from 3.92 metric tons per hectare in 2018 to 4.30 metric tons per hectare in 2019.

Corn production increasesby 1.69percent in 2019

            Two varieties of corn (white and yellow) were grown in La Union in year 2018 and 2019.The volume of production for all typesof harvested corn slightly grew by 1.69 percent from 38,927 metric tons in 2018to 39,585 metric tons in 2019. 

By croptype, yellow corn recorded a production of 31,648 metric tons or 79.95 percent of the total volume of production for all types of corn in the province in 2019. From the production of 30,948 metric tons in 2018, it shows an increase of 2.26 percent. On the other hand, the volume of production for white corn went down by 0.53 percent from7,979 metric tons in 2018to 7,937 metric tons in 2019.

Thetotal harvested area for all types of corn went up by 0.01 percent from 7,159 hectares in 2018 to 7,220 hectares in 2019. By croptype, the area harvested for yellow corn dominated the total corn harvested area of the province with 5,242 hectares in 2019. It accounted for about 72.60 percent of the total harvested area for corn in the province. The area harvested for yellow corn in 2019 was 93 hectares more than the area harvested in 2018 of 5,149 hectares. In contrast, white corn harvested area declined by 0.02 percent or 32 hectares lower than the harvested area a year ago.

Average retail prices of special rice and well-milled rice grew by 2.49 percent and 12.02 percentrespectively from January2018to December2019

The average retail prices per kilogram forspecial rice and well-milled rice in La Union in year 2019 was Php56.20 and Php41.80respectively.From January 2018 to December 2019, the pricefor special rice increased by 4.46 percent while for well-milled rice it decreased by0.48 percent. From the average monthly retail price of special rice in 2018 of PhP54.94, it slightly went up by 2.29 percent or more than one pesoand                      twenty-five centavos to 2019 average price of Php56.20. On the other hand, the average monthly retail price of well-milled rice decreased by 8.83 percent or more than four pesos from the average price of PhP45.85in 2018 to Php41.80 in 2019.

The price of special rice was consistent from January to March 2018 at Php53.80 while prices from April to December varied. Subsequently, the average retail price pegged at Php56.20 from January to December 2019. For well-milled rice, the same retail prices could be observed.

Palay and Corn Production Survey (PCPS) is a quarterly survey that generates estimates and forecasts data on production, area and yield of palay and corn. The survey gathers information on the area planted/harvested and production by ecosystem (palay) and crop type (corn); monthly distribution of production and area harvested; farm household disposition/utilization of production; area of standing crop; planting intention indicator; use of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides; and awareness and availment of program interventions.

Reference Periods

January Survey round – October to December

April Survey round – January to March

July Survey round – April to June

October Survey round – July to September

Production refers to the quantity produced and actually harvested for a particular crop during the reference period.

Area Harvested refers to the actual area from which harvest are realized during the reference period.

Irrigated Farms refer toarea with irrigation facilities supplying water through artificial means like gravity, force/power, pump, etc.  Irrigated area become rainfed only, when the irrigation system is no longer operational for the past two (2) years and beyond repair and there is no plan of irrigating the farm.          

Yield refers to the measurement of the amount of agricultural production harvested per unit of land area.

Rainfed Farms refer toarea that holds standing water but solely dependent on rainfall for its water supply. It may have dikes that retain rainwater. 

Retail Price Survey intends to collect retail prices of selected agricultural commodities (including rice) and other relevant marketing information at various frequencies at pre-selected major trading centers throughout the country.The prices are gathered from designated trading centers in key city of each region including the National Capital Region (NCR). Outputs of this survey are used in monitoring the current prices at the market level.

Retail Price is the total price charged for goods or products sold to a customer, which includes the manufacturer's cost plus a retail markup. The price when it is sold to the end user for consumption is not for resale through a third-party distribution channel.

SGD. NIÑO E. TUAZON

(Supervising Statistical Specialist)

Officer-in-Charge