SUGARCANE production may hit 2.5 million metric tons, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said, with favorable weather boosting output and the numbers firming up with the production season coming to a close.
In a mobile message last week, SRA Administrator Anna Rosario V. Paner said raw sugar production, may reach “close to 2.5 million metric tons” this crop year, exceeding the earlier target of 2.25 million MT and higher than the 2.23 million MT output last crop year.
She added that only around nine mills are extending their operations until the third week of July.
The 2.5 million metric ton estimate represents an upgrade from June 19, when the agency estimated production of 2.4 million MT.
The agency’s preliminary weekly demand and supply situationer shows that, as of June 25, sugarcane output was 2.46 million MT.
Meanwhile, millsite prices of domestic refined sugar fell to P1,404.50 per 50 kilogram bag, significantly lower than the P1,784.92 at the start of the crop year.
Ms. Paner, in an earlier interview, said imports of a competing sweetener, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), have dropped from year-earlier levels. The expanded adoption of HFCS by industrial users has been blamed for pulling down sugar prices. — Janina C. Lim
