THE SUGAR Regulatory Administration (SRA) said it is planning to allocate the entire incoming sugar crop for domestic use due to an expected drop in production.
In a draft sugar order, the regulator said all sugar in the incoming crop year will be classified “B” or reserved for domestic use.
“It’s based on the effect of El Niño on the crop that was just planted in October last year until May. We feel that there will be a decline, and then it will recover towards the end,” SRA Administrator Pablo Luis S. Azcona told reporters on Wednesday.
Based on the SRA’s initial estimates, raw sugar production could drop to 1.78 million metric tons (MMT) for the 2024-2025 crop year, against the 1.92 MMT actual output for the 2023-2024 crop year.
During the second quarter, cane production dropped 42.3% year on year to 1.63 MMT, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, making sugar the most affected single crop during the period.
“So far, based on our estimates of the crop and the actual stock on hand and our imports that are arriving, our supply is probably enough until the end of milling… by May or June 2025,” Mr. Azcona added.
Earlier, the regulator approved imports of up to 240,000 MT of refined sugar. About 176,000 MT will fill any supply gaps that may emerge during the milling off season.
“The public is assured that our sugar supply is stable. We can import what we lack; all that is balanced and calibrated,” he said.
He added that imported sugar may start arriving next week.
Asked to comment, Manuel R. Lamata, president of the United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines, said the approved volume of sugar imports could be sufficient to cover any shortfalls in production.
“Because of the bad El Niño we had, production will not be good. Nothing to worry about in terms of supply; the SRA has anticipated such a situation by approving imports of 200,000 plus of refined sugar — more than enough to cover the shortfall,” Mr. Lamata said via Viber.
The national inventory of raw sugar was 227,779 MT, while refined sugar stocks totaled 487,268 MT, according to SRA estimates as of Aug. 4. — Adrian H. Halili