Ample sugar supply expected as production exceeds target
Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) | FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Amid better weather conditions, the Philippines may have enough sugar supply as production volume has already breached the 2 million metric ton (MT) level for crop year 2024 to 2025.
Data from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) showed domestic output has reached 2.015 million MT as of June 8. The SRA implied that overall volume could increase further, with a few weeks left in the milling period.
The volume is 13.1-percent higher than the initial forecast of 1.782 million MT and reflects a 9.5-percent increase from the updated production estimate of 1.840 million MT.
It has already surpassed the 1.92 million MT of sugar produced in crop year 2023 to 2024.
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“This steady increase in raw sugar production under this administration shows that there is potential we can hit production demand of 2.3 million metric tons given the right conditions and sustained support for the industry,” the Department of Agriculture (DA) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Given the latest data, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said domestic supply “will be sufficient to meet the demand” and would ensure stable prices both for farmers and consumers.
The SRA attributed the higher output to the recovery of the sugarcane industry following the long drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon and other weather conditions.
It also said massive production and distribution of high-yielding varieties, soil improvement and adjustment of the cropping calendar to Oct. 1 from the original schedule of August improved productivity.
Sugar’s crop year
The sugar crop year typically begins in September and ends in August of the following year. However, the SRA opted to adjust the schedule to better suit climatic conditions and cane maturity to optimize production.
The country’s sugar production had remained at the 2 million MT mark for many years, but the volume declined to 1.82 million MT in crop year 2021 to 2022.
The last time production exceeded 2 million MT was in 2020 to 2021, when volume totaled 2.143 million MT.
Sugar production peaked at 2.5 million MT in 2016 to 2017, the highest since the 2010s, based on the SRA’s historical data.
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Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said reforms in managing sugarcane farms and expanded block farming efforts were contributing to higher cane yields and better efficiency at the mill level.
“We’re working closely with farmers, millers and other stakeholders to ensure that this upward trend continues,” Tiu Laurel added.
Azcona said they would push for further soil improvement, more cane varieties, irrigation and mechanization to sustain this momentum.
“The concern and effort of the government under President Marcos and Tiu Laurel on improving sugarcane production is the biggest in the history of the SRA, and we are slowly seeing the results,” Azcona said.
