• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Senator Imee Marcos stressed the need to help local sugar farmers, especially as the millgate price continues to be below P3,000 per 50-kilo bag (LKG), adding that importation would not solve the problem.
She said the current pricing of P2,600 to P2,800 per LKG is not ideal, and many farmers have been affected, especially in Negros, where about 60 percent of sugar is produced.
“Kailangan palakasin natin ang kooperatiba ng mga farmers, kausapin natin ang mga trader na kung minsan, ang balita, cartelized ang pamimili…gawan natin ng paraan na matulungan ang ating sugar farmers. Ang goal natin ay talagang umapak ng P3,000/LKG,” Marcos stressed in a press conference.
She said there is a request to import 185,000 to 200,000 metric tons of sugar, but Marcos said she’d rather want to buy from local farmers than import. “Hanggat kaya, bumili sa lokal.”
She recalled that in May last year, the retail price of sugar reached P136 a kilo amid the importation. “So kahit nag-iimport, hindi naman bumababa ang presyo sa tindahan. Huwag tayong automatic na nag-iimport, hanggat kaya ‘yong lokal muna ang tulungan at paigtingin.”
Marcos also took note of doubts and questions with regard importation, like kickbacks, and stressed the need for correct data on sugar demand and production. | CGC
