• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Sugar industry stakeholders are calling on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to declare a “no sugar import policy” for the next 18 months unless domestic stocks fall below a critical threshold and to strictly limit any imports to raw sugar for refining.
In a letter dated Dec. 19 addressed to the President through the Sugar Board, they said the sugar industry is under acute stress due to drop in millgate prices and molasses amid excessive inventories, weak demand, rising production costs, and crop losses from adverse weather and red-striped soft scale insect infestation.
The letter was signed by Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, representatives of the Association of Chief Executives of Negros Occidental, League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Iloilo Chapter, Confederation of Sugar Producers Association, National Federation of Sugarcane Planters, Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers Inc., and National Congress of Unions of the Sugar Industry of the Philippines.
They further said that storage facilities are now overstretched while farmers’ incomes are deteriorating and financial pressure on both planters and millers threatens the sustainability of the sugar industry.
During the opening of 2024-2025 crop year, the millgate prices of sugar were averaging at P2,800 per 50-kilo (Lkg) bag.
However, average prices fell to P2,350 in October and P2,400 in November, with prices in the first two weeks of December hitting P2,100 to P2,200.
To stabilize the market and restore confidence, the group stressed an urgent and decisive policy to address the problem such as declaration of no sugar import policy for the next 18 months.
If imports become necessary, it will limit strictly to raw sugar for refining by local refiners, based on stakeholder consultation, they said.
Moreover, they asked to exercise the Sugar Regulatory Administration’s (SRA) classification authority under Executive Order No. 18 to actively manage inventory levels and stabilize prices, and institutionalize the Stakeholders’ Consultative Assembly and Sugar Industry Development Council as formal platforms for policy formulation and development planning.
They also pushed to activate the proposed Committee on Sugar Substitutes, in coordination with other regulators, to address market distortion and public health concerns, and strengthen oversight of molasses importation.
These measures are essential to rebalance supply and demand, arrest further price erosion, and provide predictability for industry stakeholders, they added.
Earlier, the Department of Agriculture and the SRA extended the moratorium on sugar imports until the end of harvest or further, citing stronger domestic raw sugar production and the need to prioritize locally produced sugar.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the policy, first announced on Oct. 15, could be extended through the end of milling season or even December, depending on actual stock levels, following last year’s improved raw sugar output.
To stabilize prices and support farmers, Tiu-Laurel said the agencies will also roll out a government buying program for raw sugar, with purchases held as buffer stock for up to 90 days.
Tiu Laurel said the decision followed months of consultations with industry leaders that failed to produce consensus, even as farmgate prices continued to fall.
The Congressional Agriculture Committee is also scheduled to conduct a public consultation in response to the continuing drop in sugar millgate prices in the third week of January. | GB
