• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
In response to the suggestion of the Sugar Regulatory Administration to import sugar to fill up the production shortage caused by the El Niño phenomenon, sugar farmers are calling for a logical, transparent, and consultative importation program.
In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., the Sugar Council, an alliance of three sugar federations, including the Confederation of Sugar Producers Inc. (CONFED), National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP), and Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers Inc. (PANAYFED), said that while it did not outrightly dismiss SRA’s suggestion to import sugar, “the determination of an import program shall be based on SRA’s timely analysis of market conditions, in consultation with industry stakeholders, prior to the start of the new milling season.”
The Sugar Council’s urging came with cautious projections, submitting that unless the coming months see a spike in withdrawals, the country might not need to import raw or refined sugar until the first quarter of 2025. As conservative projections go, this may of course change, needing importation sooner. And if that is the opinion of the SRA, then the Sugar Council said it would be interested in looking at the SRA’s projections.
Whatever the case may be, in the spirit of transparency and fairness, an importation plan decided in consultation with industry stakeholders, and based on a timely analysis of market conditions, is strongly recommended, a statement from the Sugar Council said.
It also issued a warning that if imported sugar is allowed to enter the domestic market before it is actually needed, it could cause the millgate price of local sugar to drop. And with local production predicted to be low in CY 2024-2025, sugar farmers are in for a double whammy, the three sugar federations said.
At the start of the last milling season in September last year, the Sugar Council recalled that SRA predicted the millgate price to be P3,000/bag, which barely happened. The Sugar Council argued that over-importation was the cause, and that a repeat could irreversibly damage the sugar industry.
On April 18, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr issued Administrative Order No. 20, which mandates the Department of Agriculture to streamline import procedures and policies by removing non-tariff barriers.
The Sugar Council expressed its apprehension that the AO could make it a lot easier to bring in imported agricultural products, sugar included, which will compete with and displace demand for local agricultural products.
The Sugar Council immediately sent a letter to Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin emphasizing the need for safety nets to be put in place to protect sugar farmers. Likewise, the Sugar Council submitted to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. its recommendations for the implementing guidelines of the AO.
The Sugar Council maintains that, while importing sugar can stabilize the retail market in the face of insufficient local production, it has to be a solution of last resort, done in consultation with stakeholders, especially sugar farmers, and its schedule and volume calibrated to avoid the milling season.*
