Regulator halts release of 150,000 MT imported sugar

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 12) — The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) issued a resolution holding the release of 150,000 metric tons of imported sugar to protect the interest of local producers.

SRA Resolution 2023-159, dated Sept. 26 and only released to the media on Thursday, lifted the deadline for the 30-day «conversion and disposition» of imported refined sugar under Sugar Order No. 7 until further notice.

The order, which was issued in July, requires importers to distribute their stocks until Oct. 15.

The SRA noted that the oversupply in stocks has led the average farmgate price of raw sugar to continually decline.

«Despite the fact that the average retail price of sugar remains the same, the average farmgate price of raw sugar which hovered between P2,500.00 to P2,750.00 per bag during the first two weeks of CY 2023-2024 continues to go down, to the detriment of the sugar farmers, allegedly by reason of oversupply,» the resolution stated.

The importation of 150,000 MT of refined sugar is the third import program for crop year 2022-2023, and the second for this year.

The SRA said there is a need «to maintain a reasonable volume of sugar available for domestic use, protect the interests of the farmers and millers, and sustain a reasonable farmgate price of raw sugar of about P3,000 per bag.»

According to the Department of Agriculture's price monitoring as of Oct. 12, the prices sugar products in Metro Manila markets stood at ₱80 to ₱110 per kilogram (kg) for refined sugar, ₱79 to ₱95 per kg for washed sugar, and ₱75 to ₱95 per kg for brown sugar.