No sugar importation seen until early 2023, says SRA

The Philippines might not be importing sugar at least until early 2023 as the local sugar supply situation is seen to normalize, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said Tuesday.

At a press briefing in Makati City, SRA acting administrator David Alba said that local supply will normalize by November as “all the [sugar] mills and refineries will be in operations.”

Asked if the country will not import sugar at least until early next year, Alba answered in the affirmative.

“Yeah…,” he said.

The SRA chief, however, said the agency will still be monitoring the “outputs of the mills and refineries so we will see the trend around March or April.”

“Usually around March or April we will know the situation if we will need to import,” Alba said.

The SRA is projecting that local sugar production for crop year 2022-2023 will amount to 1,876,135.36 metric tons.

A crop year begins every first day of September and ends on the last day of August of the following year.

“Barring another typhoon like Odette, the canes are looking good. Hopefully, if it continues, if the trend continues, we’ll have more sugar than we have estimated,” Alba said.

The SRA, last week, issued Sugar Order No. 2, which authorizes the importation of 150,000 metric tons of refined sugar. The imported sugar will be divided equally for industrial and consumer use.

The SO 2 mandates that sugar traders participating in the import program shall ensure that their respective allocated volumes shall arrive in the Philippines not later than November 15, 2022.

The agency also issued SO 1, an order earmarking all the sugar produced during the crop year 2022-2023 for domestic consumption.

Sugar is in the spotlight following the controversial issuance of Sugar Order No. 4 (SO 4), authorizing the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar which was later on deemed “illegal” as it was signed without the knowledge and expressed approval of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Marcos earlier rejected the proposal to import 300,000 metric tons of sugar despite the increasing prices of the basic commodity due to supply constraints.

The DA earlier said there is a shortage of about 300,000 metric tons of sugar as local production was affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette late last year.

Signatories of the controversial order, including Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian, board member Roland Beltran, and SRA administrator Hermenegildo Serafica, have quit from their posts.

The Senate blue ribbon committee has recommended administrative and criminal charges against the Agriculture official and three former SRA officials over the controversial Sugar Order.—AOL, GMA News