El Niño slashed sugar production in Q3

Dry conditions due to a strong El Niño and lingering effects of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” pushed down sugarcane production by almost half during the third quarter of 2015.

The Philippine Statistics Authority said in a report that July-September output was down to 890,000 tons or 42 percent lower than the year-ago 1.54 million tons.

PSA data showed that output of sugarcane for centrifugal sugar, which represented 86 percent of total volume, fell by 46 percent to 766,463 tons.

The decline was attributed to a decrease in areas harvested “due to the effect of the dry spell in the first half of 2015 as observed in Negros Occidental.”

Also, the PSA said stunted canes were harvested due a dry spell in Negros Oriental while sugar mills did not operate in Cebu and Leyte.

Last October, the Sugar Regulatory Administration warned industry players to brace for worse times with the anticipated effects of El Niño as the phenomenon approached its expected peak.

SRA administrator Ma. Regina Martin said in a statement that local sugar plantations are already reeling from the effects earlier this year of what is considered as one of the strongest El Niño episodes in history.

“The current El Niño phenomenon will certainly affect the next crop,” Martin said. “In the absence of irrigation, this will again result in poor germination for the plant cane and lower survival for the ratoon cane.”

She added that insufficient soil moisture will also decrease tillering capacity and retard stalk elongation, all resulting to lower cane and sugar production to affected farms.

According to Martin, the canes established for early planting in October and November, succumbed to lower-than-normal rainfall at the start of 2015, with poor tillering or development of stems as well as leaf drying.

Martin said the canes established for mid- and late-season planting suffered worse, with poor germination and tillering.

“These factors, as well as faster sugar quality deterioration during extremely dry and hot conditions, will all result to lower cane and sugar yields,” Martin said.