Stakeholders are drafting a 450,000 metric ton (MT) sugar import proposal that must retail at lower than the current suggested retail price (SRP) of P90 a kilo if these were to serve a purpose.
The draft is consistent with the Malacanang directive for the industry to maintain a two-month buffer stock to keep prices stable and should help the retail consumer more than the industrial customer.
This was learned on Wednesday from Pablo Azcona, planters’ representative at the Sugar Regulatory Board (SRA), who acknowledged that ongoing efforts are at the draft stage where the import plan is circulated among all stakeholders for feedback or comments in keeping with standard practice in the past.
Sugar retailing for more than P90 a kilo will not filter down to the retail consumer and will only benefit industrial sugar clients such as the large beverage manufacturers.
According to Azcona, the proposed importation ranges from 400,000 MT up to 450,000 MT given that the Philippines is in the midst of the milling season, which also means that the stock arrive not at once but on staggered basis.
“So far, we are at the draft stage… We made a draft for the importation plan and as a standard practice, this draft is sent to all stakeholders and the DA for comments,” he said.
It is of utmost importance that the SRA correctly determines not just the volume of sugar coming in but its time of entry as well, Azcona quickly added.
Imported sugar sells for P70 to P80 a kilo at present.
Rex Estoperez, DA deputy spokesperson, said the 80,000 bags of seized sugar eyed for sale in Kadiwa rolling stores at around P70 a kilo should still undergo food safety tests.
While the seized commodity is equivalent to 4,000 MT, roughly the same volume a small sugar mill produces in a week, it is unlikely to affect farmgate prices, Estoperez said.
The Sugar Council established by the Sugar Producers Coalition to ensure the continued viability of the industry aims to act as a bridge between stakeholders on one hand and government policymakers on the other, according to Estoperez.
Council officials said other sugar producer federations are welcome to join the group.
The group, together with the Philippine Sugar Millers Association, has submitted a joint proposal to amend the Sugarcane Industry Development Act (SIDA) and increase its annual allocation from P2 billion to P5 billion to improve farm productivity and boost mill efficiency.
SIDA aims to help the sugar industry become competitive via an annual allotment of P2 billion beginning 2016, which has steadily eroded from disuse because sugar farmers are unable to meet the loan documentation required by banks.
The Sugar Council earlier called on the SRA to show production and demand numbers as well as the volume and arrival of proposed imports that justify requests by soft drink manufacturers to import sugar.
