By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD CITY – The National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) retracted its initial support for the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) and Department of Agriculture’s claim that no sugar importation would occur until the end of next year’s harvest.
“Like all sugarcane farmers, we were initially happy that no additional imported sugar would enter the country, but we did not know that SRA had already brought in imported refined sugar,” said NFSP president Enrique D. Rojas in a press statement on Tuesday.
Rojas accused the SRA of not being fully transparent, pointing out that the agency had already imported 135,833 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar under Sugar Order No. 5, Series of 2023-2024.
He added that another 104,167 MT could still be imported under the same order, which authorized a total of 240,000 MT.
“Excessive sugar importation, like what happened in Crop Year 2023-2024, brings domestic sugar prices down,” Rojas said.
He noted that the surplus from last crop year continues to depress sugar prices in the current year.
According to SRA’s Sugar Supply and Demand Situation Report, Crop Year 2024-2025 began with a carryover stock of 270,295 MT of raw sugar, 230,287 MT of locally produced refined sugar, and 77,692 MT of imported refined sugar.
As of the week ending October 20, local mills had produced 69,470 MT of raw sugar and 1,313.95 MT of refined sugar.
The same report showed withdrawals for raw sugar dropped by 18.38%, while refined sugar withdrawals fell by 20.18% compared to the same period last crop year.
“Sugar prices have dropped for three consecutive weeks now,” Rojas said.
He cited price reductions at the Hawaiian sugar mill, where prices fell from PHP 2,980.88 per bag on October 24 to PHP 2,815.99 by November 15, marking a decline of PHP 164 per bag.
At the First Farmers mill, prices fell by PHP 173.98 per bag during the same period, from PHP 2,981.92 to PHP 2,807.94.
Other mills, including Vicmico, Lopez, Sagay, Sonedco, La Carlota, and Biscom, reported price drops ranging from PHP 110 to PHP 135 per bag over the past three weeks.
“Despite the ‘no importation’ statement and low sugar production compared to last crop year, sugar prices continue to drop due to the large carryover stock, amplified by the 240,000 MT importation under Sugar Order No. 5,” Rojas lamented.
The NFSP expressed support for the Sugar Council’s November 18 statement demanding an explanation from SRA on the continued decline in sugar prices.
“Sugar farmers deserve an explanation,” Rojas stressed.
He urged the SRA to fulfill its responsibility as the government authority on sugar by addressing the issue.
Earlier, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona denied allegations of an oversupply of sugar, which some groups have blamed for the price decline.
In a statement on Monday, Azcona said, “Sugar stock levels have been constant over the past few months. Claims of oversupply causing the price drop are laced with malice, unless their goal is to create a false perception of oversupply to purposely lower prices for reasons they only know.”
