Philippines Beats Six-Month Rice Output Target by 200,000 Tons

By Luzi Ann Javier

July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Rice production in the Philippines, the world's biggest importer of the grain, likely exceeded a government target by 200,000 metric tons after the state boosted spending on agriculture.

Output in the first half may have risen 9 percent to 7.3 million metric tons, from 6.7 million tons a year earlier, the Agriculture Department said in a statement e-mailed yesterday. That compares with a January-to-June target of 7.1 million tons.

The government aims to expand production to 10 million tons in the second half, from 9.5 million tons a year ago, by providing fertilizer subsidies to farmers to make up for production losses caused by Typhoon Fengshen, according to the statement.

The typhoon caused more than 7 billion pesos ($153.5 million) of damage to crops and fisheries when it hit the Philippines on June 20 and 21, the government said.

To contact the reporter for this story: Luzi Ann Javier in Manila at ljavier@bloomberg.net