The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has issued a new sugar order, effective April 4, that would allocate the country’s entire sugar production to the domestic market. This would forgo the volume intended to be exported to the United States.
SRA Administrator Hermenegildo Serafica told the Inquirer that the board has already approved the issuance of a new sugar order that would amend the existing sugar allocations to ensure that local supply would not be compromised by exports.
The SRA annually releases Sugar Order 1, which serves as the basis of the agency’s policies for the rest of the crop year beginning in September. It specifies the volume of sugar to be imported and exported as well as the allocation for the domestic market based on projected production.
Low output
Under the order, sugar output was estimated to hit 2.19 million metric tons (MT), 7 percent of which is intended to be exported to the U.
As of end-February, however, production amounted to only 1.22 million MT, leaving a balance of 965,000 MT that might be too improbable to reach as the La Niña phenomenon is expected to persist until May.
Revised estimate
Moreover, the series of typhoons that hit major sugar-producing provinces Negros Occidental and Batangas dented the overall production for the crop year.
“Given the series of heavy rains and flooding in various sugarcane-producing areas brought by La Niña, SRA has revised its crop estimate, factoring in the lower sugar content of the canes as an effect of the rains,” Serafica said.
“The SRA board is cognizant of this new crop estimate and the position of the stakeholders. Sugar order 1-A will be issued within the week,” he added.
The Confederation of Sugar Producers, NSFP Sugar Workers, the federations of Panay and Luzon as well as SRA board member Emilio Yulo all requested to scrap the “A” allocation, or sugar intended for the United States.
“Let us ensure first that we have enough domestic supply,” Yulo said. “It is unconscionable to export if, eventually, we are to import [sugar], which will again prompt the resurgence of calls to liberalize the industry.” INQ