SUGAR regulator Hermenegildo R. Serafica said imports of 200,000 metric tons of standard and bottler’s grade refined sugar will cover the shortfall in supply and provide a buffer stock to tide the country over until the next milling season.
“During a stakeholder’s consultation conducted by (Sugar Regulatory Administration), stakeholders posed no objection to an importation program, while they recommended its mechanics, type of sugar to be imported, and arrival dates of shipments, among others,” Mr. Serafica said.
“Eligible participants to this open and voluntary importation program are industrial users of refined sugar in good standing that are duly registered international traders,” he added.
On Feb. 6, The United Sugar Producers Federation questioned the decision to import and called for the resignation of Mr. Serafica.
The SRA reported that the Philippine Association of Sugar Refineries revised its refined sugar production forecast for crop year 2021 to 2022 to 16.748 million LKg — one LKg is equivalent to a 50-kilogram bag of sugar —down from the initial production estimate of 17.572 million LKg before Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai).
“According to SRA’s projections on sugar supply and demand, this will give the country a very tight sugar stock balance at the end of milling which will not be enough to cover the two to three months’ demand for refined sugar in between the milling seasons,” Mr. Serafica said.
“Recently, SRA monitoring of sugar prices also recorded wholesale prices for both raw and refined sugar increasing to record highs. Likewise, retail sugar prices were also up,” he added.
He said more demand is expected at the start of the year.
“As the economy is once again starting to open up, the demand for raw sugar and refined sugar for January this year have also increased when compared to the same month in the three previous years. Hence the need to augment sugar stocks to ensure food security and availability of sugar to cover sugar demand until the next crop year or milling season begins again,” he said.
The crop year for sugar runs from Sept. 1 to Aug. 31 of the following year.
Mr. Serafica said that sugar mills and refineries generally stop operations from around May to June. Mills will begin operations for the next season in September or October while the refineries typically start around two weeks after the mills. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
