• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
With millgate prices of sugar sliding below production cost, Senate majority leader Juan Miguel Zubiri joined the call of stakeholders for the government to urgently step in to address a brewing sugar crisis.
In a statement, Zubiri said stressed the industry will need stronger, direct intervention to prevent more sugar farmers from bleeding even as he welcomed the decision of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to pause sugar imports for 2026.
“They need more help beyond this pause on sugar imports, whether that is through capital infusion or through a government buying program that will ensure stable income for our sugar farmers and workers, and equitable prices for consumers,” Zubiri said, stressing the need for a strong and decisive DA and Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to stabilize the millgate prices of sugar.
Sugar industry stakeholders are asking President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to implement a government-financed buying program to avert the sugar crisis due to the plummeting millgate prices of sugar.
Zubiri also pushed for the maximized utilization of the Sugar Development Fund (SDF) under the Sugar Industry Development Act, saying it should translate to visible support that farmers can feel on the ground, especially during periods of sustained losses.
“We pour a billion pesos into the SDF every year, so I hope that this is reaching our farmers. Kapag ganitong nalulugi na ang mga magsasaka, dapat saluhin na sila ng SRA by providing better infrastructure, credit, and research and development support. If we can maximize the use of the SDF now, we can even push for its increase, para mas maraming magsasaka pa ang matulungan natin,” the senator from Bukidnon explained.
Millgate prices have been dismal since the start of the sugar milling season last October, dropping from P2,200 per 50-kilogram bag of sugar in October to P2,075 in the last week of December.
In comparison, sugar fetched somewhere between P2,400 and P2,500 per bag during the 2024 milling season.
“What used to be P2,500 per bag of raw sugar is now down to P2,000 per bag while the costs of labor, fertilizer, and pesticides have been increasing,” Zubiri said.
The senator, who is also a registered agriculturist, noted that many sugar farmers are operating with limited capital and have little room to absorb sudden price drops, especially those who are agrarian reform beneficiaries.
According to the SRA, of the 88,000 sugar farmers in the country, 84 percent are small farmers with less than five hectares of land.
“We cannot leave our farmers to deal with this crisis on their own. When tens and thousands of already marginalized farmers are operating at a loss, the government has to step in,” Zubiri said. “Because of over importation of sugar in previous years, our farmers were not able to recover immediately.”
Beyond immediate price support and safety nets, Zubiri flagged smuggling and the illegal entry of sugar substitutes as another pressure point that can sabotage recovery if left unchecked.
“We have to look out for the illegal entry of sugar and sugar substitutes such as high-fructose corn syrup in the country. We cannot fully rectify this sugar crisis if we don’t clamp down on this smuggling,” he added. | GB
