THE Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) on Thursday announced plans to export 25,000 metric tons (MT) of raw sugar to the United States by August, adding that this would qualify traders to import refined sugar.
SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona explained that the commodity have to arrive in the US by September, which is the reason for shipping out by August.
“The buying price of the US is high, so our exporters asked if they could export,” he added,
Azcona said the Philippines had previously not exported to the US because the quota price there was lower than the domestic price.
Exporting to the US is usually done in order to stabilize local prices of sugar at a time when there is overproduction, which usually occurs in January, February and March, or during the peak of the milling season.
“The sugar production in those months is a lot more than what we consume. To prevent prices from dropping in the market, we export, and then after the milling season, we import the sugar we exported,” Azcona explained.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. last month said that they were eyeing to import at least 200,000 MT of refined sugar in September to fill an anticipated supply gap and keep prices stable.
Azcona also said that the Philippines did not export in January-February this year because the US quota was issued in April, though it is still keen on fulfilling its trade obligation.
The SRA chief added that raw sugar deliveries to the US were entirely dependent on supply and demand.
“At the start of milling, we informed the US that, coming from last year, we could not fulfill their quota of 143,000 MT, so they reconsidered and lowered it to 25,000 MT,” he said.
A sugar export order has been drafted and sent to the stakeholders for comments and should be finalized this month.
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