November 11, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The government deferred any sugar importation plans until the middle of next year or until after the harvest season to protect domestic producers as nationwide stocks of the commodity remain ample to prevent any retail price spikes.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced that Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and Sugar Regulatory Authority (SRA) Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona reached the decision in a recent meeting.
The government officials noted that waiting for the conclusion of the current harvest season would provide regulators a “clearer” understanding of the country’s domestic supply position.
Tiu Laurel pointed out that there is no immediate need for additional sugar imports as current domestic stocks for both raw and refined sugar remain enough to meet the country’s projected requirement.
“Given the current situation, Administrator Azcona and I agreed that a decision on sugar importation could be delayed until after May, when the current harvest season ends,” he said.
Azcona explained that local raw sugar production has yet to peak with harvest in the current crop year being delayed by sugarcane planters to allow the canes to “mature further and increase sugar content.”
Raw sugar output as of Oct. 13 has plunged by nearly 80 percent year-on-year to 43,941 metric tons from last year’s 217,815 MT, based on SRA data.
The SRA attributed the decline in output to fewer cane volume worsened by lower sugar yield per cane as a result of the ill effects of the prolonged dry spell due to El Niño.
Sugar yield is down by 18 percent year-on-year to 1.42 50-kilogram bags per one metric ton of sugarcane.
Meanwhile, total sugarcanes milled to-date nosedived by 72.7 percent to 717,570 MT from 2.63 million MT.
The SRA earlier estimated that sugar production in crop year 2024-2025 would drop by 7.2 percent on an annual basis to 1.782 million MT, the lowest level in 25 years, because of the adverse effects of extreme weather conditions.
The current crop year ends in August next year.
The STAR earlier broke the story that the government would not open the minimum access volume (MAV) for sugar next year, as the country has ample stocks and retail prices of the commodity remain stable, contrasting with the dire supply situation two years ago.
For the second straight year, the DA will not open a sugar MAV as authorities deem the current supply sufficient, especially with the ongoing importation program.
As of Oct. 13, about 126,408 MT out of the 240,000 MT approved import volume under Sugar Order 5 for the crop year 2023-2024 have arrived in the country, based on the latest SRA data.
The latest SRA reports also show that the average price of refined sugar in Metro Manila remains stable at P84.62 per kilo while raw sugar fetches P76.15 per kilo.
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