Marcos OKs importation of up to 150,000 MT of add'l sugar

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has approved the importation of up to 150,000 metric tons (MT) of additional sugar to stabilize price and boost the country's stock, Malacañang said Monday.

A press statement from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Marcos approved the importation upon the recommendation of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).

"We agreed to additional importation of sugar to stabilize the prices," Marcos said. "Maximum amount will be 150,000 MT but probably less."

The President said the exact amount "will be determined once we have determined the exact amount of supply, which will come at the end of this month."

The importation of sugar will be open to all traders, added Marcos, who also serves as Agriculture secretary,.

According to SRA forecast inventory, the country will have a negative ending stock of 552,835 MT by the end of August 2023, the end of the milling season. The SRA said the importation of another 100,000 MT to 150,000 MT of sugar is necessary to avert a shortfall.

The agency also said that although the country has sufficient supply of raw sugar with a beginning stock of 160,000 MT as of May 7, 2023, it will still need to import an additional 100,000 to 150,000 MT of sugar by this year.

This is because, according to the SRA, the expected local production of 2.4 million MT and the 440,000 MT allowed to be imported under Sugar Order No. 6, as well as the 64,050 MT under the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) mechanism, are insufficient to cover the 3.1-million MT demand.

Milling season

To boost sugar production, Marcos said he also approved moving the start of the milling season from August to September this year.

"That's important for the corresponding increase in production by approximately 10 percent," he said.

He also ordered the SRA to expedite block farming initiatives to also increase production. Block farming is a system by which small farm lots are consolidated into at least a 30 hectare-block farm. There are currently 21 block farms in the country averaging at least 40 hectares each.

The PCO said Marcos gave the orders during a meeting with the SRA headed by SRA Acting Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona and Board Member Ma. Mitzi Mangwang, representing millers.

The meeting was also attended by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile and SRA Board Secretary Rodney Rubrica.  —KBK, GMA Integrated News