Farmers’ groups recommended traders in 440,000 sugar import

MANILA — The three sugar importers who brought in the commodities under Sugar Order No. 6 early this year, which is the subject of a postponed Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing, were chosen from a list recommended by two large sugar farmers’ groups, documents showed.

The Luzon Federation of Sugarcane Growers Association (LUZONFED) and United Sugar Producers’ Federation of the Philippines, Inc. (UNIFED) made the recommendation through a Joint Board Resolution dated August 1, 2022.

In the resolution, the two groups recommended seven sugar trading companies for the importation of additional sugar to boost local supply based on their track records of directly buying from local farmers and millers.

The traders they recommended were All Asian Countertrade, Inc; Amerop, Philippines, Inc.; Sucden Philippines, Inc; Edison Lee Marketing Corporation, Oro Allado Commodities, Inc.; San Fernando Eric Commercial, Inc. and Skylark Company, Inc.

It was from this list that Department of Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban picked the three traders who committed to bring in the commodity as soon as possible.

A copy of the joint board resolution of LUZONFED and UNIFED recommending the traders for the sugar import. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

In an earlier statement, Panganiban said he interpreted a memorandum issued to him by the Office of the Executive Secretary as a go-signal to proceed with the importation.

“In response to the directive of the President, to address inflation and create a buffer stock, and given that sugar is one of the components of most commodities that drive the consistently high inflation rate, I interpreted the memorandum issued by the Office of the Executive Secretary as an approval to proceed with the importation,” Panganiban said.

The memorandum from Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin dated Jan. 13 ordered the DA to implement its recommendations to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is also the Agriculture Secretary, on the 2nd Sugar Importation Program for the Crop Year 2022-2023.

According to Panganiban, he instructed three “capable and accredited” companies from a three-page list to proceed with the sugar importation as long as they reduce the cost of sugar to a commercially acceptable price.

These were All Asian Countertrade Inc. of Michael Escaler, Edward Lee Marketing Corp. of Edison Lee, and Sucden Phils. Of Christian Emmanuel Alvarado.

“Mr. Escaler, Mr. Alvarado, and Mr. Lee — the three companies I have selected from a list that was given to me and I considered them as the most capable importers that we have,” Panganiban said, referring to the owners of the three trading companies.