After 4-year break, PH resumes sugar exports to US

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The Philippines delivered raw sugar to the United States for the first time in four years after prioritizing domestic consumption.

The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said that 25,300 metric tons (MT) of raw sugar bound for California had been loaded into cargo vessel Tate J, which set sail on Tuesday a little past 1 p.m.

The raw sugar shipment is expected to arrive in the US within 22 days under good weather conditions, according to the SRA.

“This will balance out the supply of raw sugar in the country when we start milling by the end of this month,” SRA administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said on Tuesday.

READ: PH can finally export raw sugar to US

This is the approved volume of sugar to be shipped to the US market to meet the country’s export quota from Washington for the fiscal year 2024.

Based on Sugar Order (SO) No. 3 dated July 19, this was the first export of sugar in fulfillment of the US sugar quota allocation for 2024 to participate in future import program.

The Philippines last shipped out 112,008 metric tons commercial weight (MTCW) of raw sugar to the US in crop year 2020-2021.

In previous years, the country chose not to use its sugar trade allocation. It instead deployed the entire production to the domestic market, as local output could not meet the demand for the sweetener.

Still, exporters had expressed their willingness to help the government meet its US sugar quota “despite the lower return … and the additional cost and uncertainty inherent to the exportation of sugar.”

The export round was open to licensed international sugar traders who were still in good standing.

For fiscal year 2025 covering Oct. 1 this year through Sept. 30, 2025, the Office of the US Trade Representative allotted 145,235 MT raw value (MTRV) of raw cane sugar to the Philippines.

READ: Locally produced sugar still insufficient to meet demand, says SRA

Under the tariff-rate quota system, certain countries, including the Philippines, are allowed to export specified quantities of product to the US at a “relatively low tariff.”

This is part of America’s commitment under the World Trade Organization to provide the export quota to some sugar-exporting nations.

The US earmarked 1.12 million MTRV of sugar export quota for several countries, with the Dominican Republic, Brazil and the Philippines receiving the highest allocations for the fiscal year beginning October.

It is not certain whether the country will be able to meet the new export quota from America as the SRA implied last month that SO No. 1 for crop year 2024-2025 would classify all locally produced sugar as “B” sugar or domestic use.

The SRA is yet to issue the first order for this upcoming crop year. INQ