Congress seen to OK sugar importation by NFA next year

Congress is likely to approve a plan by the National Food Authority (NFA) to import sugar next year at low tariff.

An official of the NFA said Congress incorporated in the NFA’s budget proposal for 2001, an item for the shipment of some 54,000 metric tons representing the minimum access volume (MAV) for sugar.

"Congress included the MAV in our proposed Sugar Stabilization Fund (SSF), and usually, approval of the SSF also means an automatic approval of the MAV," the NFA official said.

Agricultural commodities that are imported under the MAV are imposed a very low tariff. For sugar brought in under MAV, government levies a 50- percent tariff. Sugar imports outside of the MAV are imposed a higher tariff of 65 percent.

The NFA official said he expects Congress to approve the agency’s budget proposal in today’s hearing of the Congressional committee on agriculture.

The source said the MAV which allows NFA to bring in sugar at low tariff is meant to offset or minimize the trading agency’s losses incurred every time it has to buy raw sugar from domestic producers at a support price and sell this in turn at very low prices to satisfy consumers’ requirements.

The low-tariff sugar is auctioned by the NFA to sugar distributors and the proceeds are used to boost its procurement/subsidy operations for sugar, corn and palay.

Congress last year directed the NFA to import sugar under the MAV to stave off a shortage and prevent domestic prices of sugar from skyrocketing.

In recent months, NFA imported 200,000 MT of sugar to meet local demand, this volume already includes this year’s 51,000 MT sugar MAV.

The NFA official said it will be up to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to decide if additional importation is needed outside of the MAV.

The SRA this year, requested for an additional volume of imported sugar because of a projected shortfall and next year might see the same situation happening all over again. – Rocel Felix