• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The public consultation on sugar industry concerns, particularly the drop in millgate prices in Negros Occidental, will be held on Jan. 23 in the province, with Quezon 1st District Rep. Mark Enverga and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan expected to attend, 3rd District Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez said Jan. 8.
Benitez earlier filed House Resolution 373 to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, “into the plunge of millgate sugar prices in Negros Occidental…to identify the root causes, review the effectiveness of existing laws and policies, and recommend legislative and administrative measures to stabilize sugar prices at profitable level, and ensure the economic welfare of sugar producers and laborers”.
Pangilinan is chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, while Enverga leads the House Committee on Agriculture and Food.
Benitez said the consultation followed the resolution he filed calling for a joint House-Senate inquiry on the sugar industry. “Importante gid ini nga tion para mapamatian ang tingog sang aton mga mangunguma kag mabuligan naton tanan ang industriya sang kalamay.”
In his resolution filed Oct. 13 and pending with the Committee on Agriculture and Food since Nov. 19, Benitez said the millgate price of locally-produced sugar in Negros Occidental has drastically fallen to an average of P2,200 per 50-kilogram bag, or nearly P300 below the standard production cost of P2,500, placing immense financial strain on sugar producers.
Per the weekly millsite price monitoring of the Sugar Regulatory Administration, the average sugar price was at P2,174.58 per 50-kilo bag, as of Dec. 21.
“This steep price decline has triggered an alarming economic crisis for sugar planters in Negros Occidental, particularly small producers already burdened by rising fertilizer costs, which now average between P1,800 to P2,000 per bag,” Benitez stressed.
The solon said there is need for immediate legislative and executive action to safeguard the industry, protect rural livelihoods, and maintain equitable economic growth, considering that Negros Occidental is known as the ‘Sugar Bowl of the Philippines”, producing approximately 1.8 million metric tons of sugar annually, or more than half of the country’s total sugar output. | CGC
