• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Sugar farmers have expressed fears that foregone revenues of the industry could exceed P20 billion by June if the crash in millgate prices of sugar, as well as molasses, is not addressed.
The warning, which was contained in a position paper submitted by the Confederation of Sugarcane Producers Association Inc. (CONFED), was aired by former Sugar Regulatory Administrator Rafael Coscolluela during a public consultation conducted jointly by the Senate and House of Representatives on Friday in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.
CONFED blamed the drastic decline in millgate prices to over-supply of imported refined sugar, large inventories of raw sugar, unchecked molasses importation, and unregulated entry of sugar substitutes, on top of rising labor costs, lack of manpower, pest infestations, and natural calamities.
Over the last 13 weeks of 2025 (October to December), the drop in sugar and molasses prices has cost the sugar industry foregone revenues of P5.3 billion from sugar sales, and P1.73 billion from molasses sales, or a total of P7.28 billion. Money inflow contracted by P560 million per week, mostly in Negros Island.
If unchecked, foregone revenues of the sugar industry could exceed P20 billion by June 2026, said Coscolluela, who is also a CONFED consultant.
CONFED noted that when sugar millgate prices were dropping sharply, retail consumers did not benefit from a corresponding decline.
Representative Wilfrido Mark Enverga, chairman of the House committee on Agriculture and Food, said the public consultation is intended to directly support an upcoming congressional inquiry in aid of legislation, rejecting claims that the gathering was merely for show.
“This public consultation will be used for our official inquiry in aid of legislation. This is definitely not a show,” Enverga said, adding that hearing the major concerns of stakeholders at the outset will make our work in Congress easier.
Also pushed during the public consultation was the convening of the Sugar Industry Stakeholder Consultative Assembly to serve as the institutional consultative mechanism that ensures transparent decision making, and to forthwith organize appropriate technical working groups to deliberate on vital industry-related issues.
On the part of the Senate, Pangilinan said they will review recommendations on the procedures by which sugar importation is decided upon.
He stressed the need to have a baseline of the consumption and demand, to determine if there is a shortfall, which would require importation.
In the meantime, Pangilinan said he will push for giving direct cash assistance to sugar farmers and small planters, to mitigate the impact of the drop in millgate prices of locally-produced sugar.
Negros Occidental 5th district Rep. Jeffrey Ferrer challenged the Department of Agriculture and the Sugar Regulatory Administration find ways to increase the price of sugar.
Ferrer emphasized that the SRA, along with the Department of Agriculture (DA), has the authority and obligation to balance the interests of all stakeholders in the sugar industry, stressing “this is not about fighting or blaming.”
“It’s very simple — raise the price to a fair level,” Ferrer said, clarifying that he does not see the issues raised against the SRA as negligence.
The Negrense solon rather called it a challenge for the DA and SRA to confront head-on.
Negros Occidental 5th district Rep. Emilio Bernardino Yulo III reported that 90,000 sugar farmers nationwide were affected by drastic decline in millgate prices of sugar, of which 80 to 90 percent are small and marginalized farmers, owning three hectares of land and below.
Of the 200,000 hectares of land that was planted with sugarcane in Negros, it is now reduced to 150,000 hectares, Yulo said.
Negros Occidental 3rd district Representative Javier Miguel Benitez, who facilitated the public consultation, said sugar industry is once again in a critical state, and requires urgent government intervention.
Benitez said Congress will step in through its oversight committee and pursue legislation when necessary, noting that he understands the plight of small farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Despite a positive global outlook for sugar, Benitez said the local industry continues to suffer from over-importation, including the entry of 424,000 metric tons of refined sugar under Sugar Order No. 8, weakening demand due to artificial sweeteners, along with rising production costs.
“These challenges are long-standing, but Congress is committed to addressing them to protect the future of the sugar industry,” he added.
The sugar industry public consultation on Friday brought together government officials, industry stakeholders, producers, workers, and experts to discuss declining millgate sugar prices and their impact on the local economy and rural communities.
It was also attended by SRA officials led by Pablo Luis Azcona, who briefed public consultation participants on the state of the sugar industry, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, Rep. Mercedes Alvarez (6th district, Negros Occ.), Abang Lingkod Rep. Manuel Frederick Ko, and other industry stakeholders.*
