SUGAR PLANTERS are blaming the reported unabated smuggling of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) into the country as the cause in the drop in prices of sugar. The importation and use of HFCS, instead of locally produced sugar, by beverage companies in the country, has taken its toll to the sugar industry, they said. Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) data showed that domestic sugar prices have dropped to an average of P1,224 per liquid-kilogram (lkg). Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol, who spoke at the 11th National Shrimp Congress in Bacolod City last week, said he will look into it. “As long as there is an official complaint about it,” Mr. Piñol said, adding that he will ask the SRA to handle it. Bacolod is part of Negros island, where 60% of the sugar domestic production comes from. The Sugar Alliance of the Philippines (SAP) already requested SRA chief Hermenigildo R. Serafica to investigate the smuggling of HFCS into the country. At the same time, Manuel Lamata, president of the United Sugar Producers’ Federation of the Philippines, also urged the SRA to implement Sugar Order No. 3 (SO3), which regulates HFCS entry, especially now that the sugar industry is in full milling operation. Under SO3, no imported HFCS shipment can be released from the Bureau of Customs without SRA clearance, he noted. Mr. Lamata said the SAP also asked SRA to help arrange a meeting between his group and the president of the Land Bank of the Philippines to request the latter to provide the industry’s Quedan Financing to support the small and marginal farmers for the next three months so they can offset their expenses, while they wait for higher prices. Mr. Piñol said the low price of sugar is a global problem. “But the only thing we are addressing right now would be the increase of productivity to recover the price,” he said. “We are also looking into other activities related to the sugar industry, where farmers could be involved with, for other sources of income,” he added. — The Freeman

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