The government would allow the importation of at least 300,000 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar to augment the country’s supply and ease the high retail price of the sweetener.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol on Sunday announced that sugar planters had proposed the opening of another round of importation to cut retail prices.
This time, Piñol said the imports would all be channeled to the retail market and not to industrial users.
“Yes, because the importation will be solely for the consumer market,” Piñol told the BusinessMirror when asked if he expects the additional volume of imports to pull down sugar retail prices. “That was the condition set by the sugar stakeholders.”
The decision to import was discussed during a dialogue with sugar planters, millers, Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Board and Sen. Juan Miguel F. Zubiri last week, according to Piñol.
Citing sugar planters, Piñol said “they will not ask for royalty payments unlike in previous importations” wherein interested traders must purchase import rights from them.
Sugar industry stakeholders said the 200,000 MT approved by the government in June was unable to make a dent in retail prices as the bulk went to industrial users, such as beverage makers.
The purchase of import rights was also a factor as it increased the cost of the imported sugar bought by traders.
United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines President Manuel Lamata confirmed to the BusinessMirror that it was the sugar planters who proposed the importation. Lamata said planters agreed to the move to support efforts of the government to ease inflation.
“It is about time to help the President. He helped us in our fight against Coca-Cola where he backed us up [by] putting up [a higher] excise tax on high fructose corn syrup,” Lamata said.
Under the planters’ proposal, the imported sugar must arrive by October. Of the 300,000 MT, the 200,000 MT will be channeled to the retail market immediately. The rest would serve as buffer stock and would be classified as “reserved” and will only be released in case prices remain high.
Lamata also said the country’s sugar output may not be sufficient to fill up the country’s total demand for crop year 2018-2019 as industrial users are purchasing more sugar.
Philippine Sugar Millers Association Inc. Executive Director Francisco D. Varua told the BusinessMirror that the industry is also anticipating higher demand for sugar during the holiday season.
“We want to anticipate increased demand due to the Yuletide season and at the same time, milling has been delayed a little bit due to unfavorable weather conditions,” Varua said.
He said only SRA-accredited traders, who participated in the previous importation program, would be allowed to import sugar this time to ensure the expeditious arrival of shipments.
Lamata and Varua are in agreement that the “reasonable” price of raw sugar is around P1,500 to P1,600 per 50-kilogram bag. Raw sugar is currently priced between P1,800 to P1,900 per LKg.
SRA board member Emilio Bernardino L. Yulo, who represents the planters sector, said they agreed to the importation on the condition that the SRA “will be on top of the situation.”