MANILA - The Philippines said on Wednesday its paddy rice output is now expected to hit 17.91 million tons in 2016, the lowest in three years and below a July forecast of 18.135 million tons, due to crop losses from an El Nino dry spell and typhoons.

The Philippines, one of the world's biggest rice importers, could buy another 250,000 tons of rice in addition to the 250,000 tons purchased recently from Vietnam and Thailand, if it sees a need to boost state buffer stocks.

The latest forecast from the Philippine Statistics Authority for output this year is 1.3 percent lower than a 2015 harvest of 18.15 million tons, which followed record production of 18.97 million tons in 2014.

Unmilled rice output in the fourth quarter is forecast to grow 0.33 percent from last year to 7.3 million tons, following a 16.35 percent annual increase in the July-September quarter, the statistics authority said in a report.