SRA chief slams critics: Move to import sugar needed, justified

Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) chief Hermenegildo Serafica denied any midnight deal in the agency’s plan to import sugar, saying the government needs to move now in order to avert a potential supply shortfall in the coming months.

“Can you imagine what will happen if there is no sugar available in the local market for households, for food retailers and manufacturers?” he said in a statement on Monday. “I would like to ask the detractors of importation, will they be accountable when we run out of sugar?”

A draft order by the SRA outlined plans for the importation of 250,000 metric tons of raw sugar, of which 150,000 MT shall be premium grade or bottlers’ grade refined sugar while the remaining 100,000 MT shall be raw sugar.

The United Sugar Producers Federation (Unifed) earlier threatened to bring the SRA chief to court and seek his arrest should the agency sign the new order.

“This proposed [Sugar Order No. 4] is a slap on the faces of the two regional trial courts here that issued rulings to halt any importation program pending a final resolution to the cases that had been deemed to cause damage to the sugar industry,” said Unifed president Manuel Lamata.

Halt orders

In February, the regional trial courts in Sagay City and Himamaylan City in Negros Occidental issued separate halt orders barring the SRA from implementing Sugar Order No. 3 that would have authorized the entry of 200,000 MT of sugar into the country.

Serafica stressed the import program was meant to address the tightness in supply and sugar prices that have skyrocketed to “record highs.”

Based on estimates, he said local production won’t be enough to meet domestic consumption in the coming months, particularly from June to August, as the demand for sugar increases with the further opening of the economy.

Estimates from the SRA showed raw sugar production for crop year 2021-2022 was projected to decline to 1.982 million MT from 2.072 million MT in the prefinal crop estimate as of Jan. 20, 2022 and from 2.099 million MT in the premilling crop estimate as of Aug. 31, 2021.

Onslaught of typhoons

Serafica attributed the decline in output due to the onslaught of typhoons last year, in particular Typhoon “Odette” (international name: Rai) that barreled across sugar producing regions, and the excessive rains and reduced sunlight caused by the La Niña phenomenon.

“Another effect of the rise in sugar prices is the rush of farmers to mill their canes while prices are up even though these canes are not yet fully mature thus have less tonnage and sugar content,” he said.

“As a result, aside from lower sugar production when compared to the last crop year, milling will also be ending earlier than expected,” he added.

Serafica also said sugar prices were soaring to record highs, with no end in sight.

Based on the SRA’s monitoring as of April 1, the wholesale price of raw sugar has climbed to an average of P2,266.15 per 50-kilo bag while refined sugar has gone up to P3,084.23 per 50-kilo bag. INQ