MANILA, Philippines — The plan to import 440,000 metric tons of refined sugar is aimed at bringing down its price to P85 per kilo, a board member of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said Wednesday.
SRA Board member Pablo Azcona said the agency has already approved the sugar importation order and it would be soon transmitted to Malacañang for final approval.
READ: Philippines to import fresh 440,000 MT of sugar
Once the importation is approved, some of it will be released upon “immediate arrival” in an attempt to “temper the high retail price of sugar.”
“We are trying to make sure na iyong retail price po natin is bababa (that the retail price will go down) to P85 per kilo without hurting the farmers,” Azcona said in a public briefing.
Azcona said the plan is to import 200,000 metric tons of sugar for consumer use while 240,000 metric tons will be set aside for a two-month buffer stock.
He said the buffer stock will be released at the discretion of the SRA, based on the inventory and demand, which will probably be during the “off-season.”
In the Philippines, the sugar cropping season begins in September and ends in August the following year.
The SRA board member gave assurance to the public that only refined sugar will be imported, not raw, since the country has an ample supply of raw sugar.
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