• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Sugar industry stakeholders expressed alarm over the unregulated entry and use of artificial sweeteners in the country citing that these sugar substitutes can displace a substantial volume of sugar in the domestic market.
In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr., concurrent Chairman of the Sugar Board, the Sugar Council, composed of three sugar federations composed of NSFP, Panayfed and Confed, and the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP) jointly raised their “serious concern over a matter of great consequence to the future of the sugarcane industry – the importation and use of artificial sweeteners”.
The three most popular artificial sweeteners used in beverage manufacturing are Sucralose, Aspartame, and Acesulfame Potassium. Scientific data show that Sucralose is 600 times sweeter than sugar, while Aspartame and Acesulfame Potassium are 200 times sweeter than sugar, according to Roland de la Cruz, president of NACUSIP.
The group cited records from the Philippine Statistics Office which show that importation of artificial sweeteners have risen from 950,989 kgs in 2022 to 1,100,783 kgs in 2023. The importation of Sucralose registered at 267,567 kgs in 2022 to 433,775 kgs in 2023, Aspartame at 416,662 kgs to 631,767 kgs, and Acesulfame Potassium at 266,760 kgs to 2,241 kgs.
They are also asking the DA to provide them the data on the impact of artificial sweeteners on the consumption of locally produced sugar.
The group contend that with the unregulated entry of the sweeteners and sugar importation program of the government, the local sugar industry is facing a “double whammy”. | GB
