MANILA, Philippines — The federal government intends to usher in 200,000 metric tons (MT) of imported refined sugar by September this yr to stabilize retail costs and home provide, in response to the Division of Agriculture (DA).
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. advised reporters on Wednesday night time the matter of importation has been on the desk for six months. He mentioned it could be timed to fill the hole earlier than native harvest and refining.
“That’s the deficit we’re seeing. We anticipate present shares to say no by August or September, so we have to plug the provision hole by importing 200,000 metric tons of refined sugar by September or October,” he added.
He mentioned the DA and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) would flesh out the main points in early July.
Requested for extra info, the SRA mentioned any importation plan can be activated if the “set off level” is reached, or if the buffer inventory is lower than three months’ value of provide.
‘Set off’
“As we mentioned beforehand, we’ll activate an import plan ought to the set off inventory stage be reached to make sure a steady provide and steady worth for our retail and industrial shoppers, in addition to to make sure that our farmers is not going to be affected,” SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona mentioned in an announcement on Thursday.
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Azcona mentioned if the federal government would provoke an importation, it could be ruled by Sugar Order No. 2, which permits merchants to buy native uncooked sugar at premium costs in change for assured allocations in future importation rounds.
The mentioned order goals to make sure ample provide whereas guaranteeing steady farm-gate costs and cheap and truthful retail costs.
The United Sugar Producers Federation (Unifed) expressed its help for the deliberate importation, saying the El Niño phenomenon delayed the start of the harvest season.
“This may fill within the scarcity earlier than harvest season begins in September. Harvest this coming crop yr shall be delayed because of El Niño and once we had been consulted about this matter, we authorised the proposal,” Unifed president Manuel Lamata mentioned.
Final resort and completely obligatory
In a separate assertion, the Nationwide Federation of Sugarcane Planters mentioned any plan to buy imported sugar “ought to solely be the final resort” and “solely when completely obligatory.”
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MANILA, Philippines — A coalition of sugarcane producers mentioned the Philippines might have to usher in imported sugar to maintain costs of the sweetener in verify earlier than one other planting season begins.
The Sugar Council—a coalition of Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations Inc., Nationwide Federation of Sugarcane Planters Inc., and Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers Inc.—mentioned the nation would want a “calibrated” importation program to make sure steady costs on the retail stage.
“Whereas the Sugar Council admits that sugar importation is required to keep up the steadiness of retail costs throughout off-milling season, a calibrated and clear importation program should be in place to make sure that regionally produced sugar isn’t prejudiced,” they mentioned in an announcement on Wednesday.
READ: Regulator mulls over sugar importation
“We have to confirm the precise sugar shares, together with the remaining quantity of the earlier importations and the projected manufacturing at first of the subsequent milling season, earlier than we finalize the precise quantity and authorize any importation,” the group mentioned.
Information from the SRA confirmed native uncooked sugar manufacturing totaled 1.92 million MT as of June 9, up by 7.04 % from 1.79 million MT in the identical interval a yr in the past. Demand for uncooked sugar dropped by 2.98 % to 1.49 million MT from 1.54 million MT beforehand.
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Refined sugar retailed from P74 per kilo to P92 per kilo as of Wednesday, decrease than the P86 per kilo to P110 per kilo a yr prior, primarily based on the DA’s worth monitoring of markets in Metro Manila.
