Planters said sugar output at the end of the current crop year on August 31 will hit the government’s forecast of 2.07 million metric tons (MMT), which will be enough to meet the country’s requirement for the sweetener.
Confederation of Sugar Producers Association (Confed) Spokesman Raymond Montinola said hitting the projected output and ending stock of about 437,000 metric tons (MT) would mean that the country will no longer need to import sugar this year.
“[Output] will be enough to supply the needs and requirements of the domestic market. As of now, if the production forecast is hit, then there is no need for importation,” Montinola told reporters in an interview in Makati City on Wednesday.
The Sugar Regulatory Administration’s (SRA) projected output this current crop year is slightly lower than the 2.083 MMT produced in the previous crop year.
Sugar planters said bad weather conditions and lack of laborers, such as sugarcane cutters, hampered production.
The SRA had initially projected that output in the current crop year will reach 2.225 MMT. But the agency was forced to revise the figure downward due to the problems faced by planters. The country’s sugar output as of May 19 has reached 2.054 MMT, 3.12 percent higher than the 1.992 MMT recorded in the same period last year, SRA data showed.
However, SRA data showed that total sugarcane milled to date has declined by 5.25 percent year-on-year to 21.562 MMT.
Sugar-milling recovery rate as of May 19 is pegged at 1.91 50-kilogram bags per ton cane, 8.52 percent over the 1.76 LKg/TC recorded in the same period last year.
The country’s latest total physical sugar stock, which includes imports, is pegged at 558,262.88 MT, 11.77 percent over last year’s inventory of 499,490.01 MT.
SRA data showed that the mill-site price of sugar in the current crop year has averaged at P1,502.90 per LKg, 16.60 percent lower than last year’s average quotation of P1,802.01 per LKg.