SRA holds release of 150,000MT imported sugar

The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has decided to hold the release of 150,000 metric tons (MT) of imported sugar to stabilize falling farmgate prices of raw sugar in support of local industry.

In its Resolution No. 2023-159 dated September 26, 2023, a copy of which was released to the media on Thursday, the SRA said it deemed necessary to “hold in abeyance all applications of conversion and maintain the classification of all imported sugar as ‘Reserved’.”

The subjected sugar volume was imported under Sugar Order No. 7, series of 2022-2023.

The SO 7 authorized the importation of 150,000 MT of refined sugar which should arrive not later than September 15, 2023 and shall be classified as “Reserved.”

Under the said order, importers were given until October 15, 2023 to distribute their stocks.

However, the SRA, in its Resolution No. 2023-159, lifted the deadline for importers to apply for the reclassification of their “Reserved” sugar stocks for distribution in a bid to “protect the interests of the farmers and millers, and sustain a reasonable farmgate price of sugar at about P3,000 bag.”

This, as the SRA observed that the average retail price of sugar remains the same, while the average price of raw sugar fell between P2,500 and P2,750 per bag during the first two weeks of crop year 2023-2024 and “continues to go down, to the detriment of the sugar farmers, allegedly by reason of oversupply.”

Importer-traders, however, have indicated that of the total volume of sugar imported, about P3,000 per bag farmgate price will still be maintained, according to the agency.

The lifting of the deadline to “reclassify, distribute, and dispose” all imported refined sugar classified as “Reserved” under SO 7 effectively holds its release “until further notice.”

In an interview with reporters in Victorias City, Negros Occidental, SRA Administrator and CEO Pablo Luis Azcona said, “The significant drop in farmgate prices was triggered by the speculation that reserved sugars will be released.”

“The SRA issued a [resolution] that we might have to regulate the supply to ensure fair price for farmers and consumers,” Azcona said.

The SRA chief added that the decision to hold the release of imported sugar was meant to “regulate supply and keep it as buffer as initially planned.”

Under SO 7, the planned importation was to “ensure sufficient supply” and keep “at least a two-month buffer stock.”

The SRA noted that pursuant to Executive Order No. 18, dated May 28, 1986, it has the power to establish and maintain a balanced relationship between sugar production and supply, and to maintain such marketing conditions as will ensure stabilized prices at levels reasonably profitable to the producers and fair to consumers.

Moreover, Section 8 of Republic Act No. 10659 or the Sugarcane Industry
Development Act (SIDA) of 2015 affirms the mandate of the SRA to regulate the supply of sugar in the country, in addition to its powers and functions under Executive Order No. 18, Series of 1986, and establish a supply chain monitoring system. —KBK, GMA Integrated News