Philippine 2008 Output Likely To Exceed Target

According to Philippines Department of Agriculture, Philippine rice output this year could exceed the government's target of 17.32 million MT on a bumper harvest of the country's summer crop.

The country's output this year so far has reached 7.12 million MT, which was the projected output for the first six months of the year, the department said.

Despite the record output, the Philippines will likely be the world's largest importer of the grain this year, as it plans to buy up to 2.1 million MT of rice.