• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Sugar production for crop year 2026-2027 is seen to decrease by seven to nine percent nationwide due to rising farm input costs, reduced fertilization, high fuel prices, and prolonged dry condition affecting sugarcane farms.
Pablo Luis Azcona, administrator of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), however, said the final production drop would depend on how long the current milling season continues.
“The only factor that we are waiting for is when the milling ends. If it will end early, then we will see a bigger drop. If it continues as long as last year, then the drop might not be significant,” Azcona said on the sidelines of the distribution of P14.8 million worth of farm implements to block farms on May 12 in La Carlota City.
A nine percent drop in production is being estimated at 180,000 tons of raw sugar.
Azcona said that farmers in northern and central Negros have already reported substantial declines in production per farm as growers cut back on spending amid escalating costs.
“The problem for the next crop year is the increase in the price of inputs,” Azcona said, explaining that farmers now buy about 40 percent less fertilizer than before, with prices nearly doubling.
Fuel costs and dry weather conditions have also forced many growers to reduce irrigation.
“Instead of irrigating to make our sugarcanes grow better, we are just irrigating it to make it survive while waiting for the rain,” he added.
Azcona said that fertilizer application among farmers has already dropped by around 30 to 40 percent.
“Prior to this crisis, we might already have been fertilizing at the lower limit because everybody was trying to save,” the SRA chief said, warning that the reduction in inputs could further affect production next season.
Azcona said they are eyeing that non-essential items or projects may not push through at this time and instead be converted into additional input assistance.
Despite concerns over lower production, Azcona said the SRA hopes to at least maintain the current crop year’s output, provided there are no major calamities or widespread outbreaks of red-striped soft scale insect.
“We are hoping we get rain. We’ve seen low-pressure areas and storms coming in. That will help us a lot,” he said. | GB
