Coconut and sugar — still stable as ever

We don’t realize it but sugar is in the short list of commodities that have not gone up in the last few months. It still retails at P36-38/kilo in Metro Manila. Mill gate price (wholesale) is at P1,100-1,200 per 50 kilo bag. Compare this with other commodities like rice and flour (throw in chicken, pork, beef), and you would understand why the sugar planters would want to gear up for increases as well.

Despite unfavorable weather conditions in the early part of the year, there has been a slight increase in sugar production, up over last year’s. The stable supply and the fairly stable demand have kept the prices at bay, which cannot be said of the rice sector.

Few of us realize also that the price of domestic sugar is much, much lower than in the world market. The Philippines has to fill up a US quota for sugar (which is relatively low), but they pay P580 to P600 for what we buy at P1,100 to P1,200. In terms few of us would appreciate, that is called protectionism, a necessary tool that governments use because they have to be protective of domestic producers. It’s not just us, everyone is doing it.

We hope this continues, but the sugar planters are worried about the escalating prices of fertilizer and fuel.  According to Mr. Rafael Coscolluela, head of the Sugar Regulatory Administration, more expensive fertilizer could translate to less of it being utilized by farmers, in order to cut costs. Less fertilizer, of course, would also mean less production. Less production, for us consumers would mean higher prices in the long run, so goodbye to stable prices.

The only solutions they can look at are direct importation to bring down the cost or viable alternatives to chemical fertilizers. Sayang. Now that the industry is doing relatively well, we hope more can be done to at least keep production at its present level. They are now exporting to Dubai, a new market, and looking at other markets as well. Mr. Coscolluela says that, with improved productivity, it looks like the sugar planters will be able to supply feedstock for the emerging ethanol industry.

Philippine sugar has to remain competitive. The sector though is afraid that by 2010, tariffs for sugar will be brought down to five percent or even lower. Right now, it is at 38 percent, protective enough for the local planters, but if their fears have basis, our domestic sugar will be competing directly with world market prices. Because of the low prices in the world market, some unscrupulous groups try to smuggle in refined sugar, mostly from Thailand, to retailers through the back door (Mindanao). The association of sugar planters and the SRA are very vigilant about this and are working closely with the Bureau of Customs and the anti-smuggling agency to arrest this.  They have raided quite a few establishments and confiscated the shipments. The smuggled sugar is auctioned off, and the usual bidders are the food exporters who otherwise have to buy sugar at P950-1,000/bag.

The only other recourse, if tariffs indeed will be lowered, is for Philippine sugar to be re-classified to the highly sensitive list so that world prices will not choke the industry to unviable levels.

This brings us to another vital industry, the coconut industry. Philippine Coconut Authority Administrator Oscar Garin says that we have less volume, though higher value now for export, so their tendency is to sell more locally. However, they have been developing coconut products. A few years ago, the virgin coconut oil made waves in the market. Now, they are quite hopeful about the coconut sugar which, as claimed by Mr. Garin, is an “eat-all-you-can type of sugar, even for diabetics.” Check it out with your endocrinologist and nutritionist.

Anyway, Mr. Garin tells us that recently, they launched a program where coconut farmers and landowners were to be given hefty incentives just for planting coconut. For every robust and healthy coconut plant on the ground, you could get as much as P30.

With the program, they were able to raise about nine million nuts on the ground, and the equivalent incentive was P63 million. The big problem is, the PCA has not received the promised money.  The fund is supposedly held by the Coconut Industry Investment Fund, and todate PCA, and the farmers, have not received any of the promised incentive.

The Philippine Coconut Authority is quite bullish about the industry.  They are knocking on the doors of Congress to release the much needed funds for fertilization. According to them, if they get the P1.89 billion they are asking for, this could translate easily to returns of P6.7 billion in terms of increased production. This would also mean that they can now afford to increase the blending with coco diesel, from one percent to two percent. Mr. Garin further says that 70 million liters are needed to blend with regular fossil diesel, equivalent in copra terms to 100,000 metric tons.

What say you, guys?

More memories...

Yes, keep ‘em coming.

I, too, remember Brown Derby’s footlong hotdogs. This popular restaurant was on Taft Avenue, back when traffic in the area wasn’t as horrible as now. It was a favorite place for young people — the place to be seen. Young ladies wore their Saturday best and came in groups while young boys ogled from another table. Their footlong hotdog, as American as any you could think of then, was a big meal in itself, and almost every table had an order of it. Thanks for the input, Mr. Ramon Lagoc.

From Ms. Terra Daffon — Our piece on food memories brought back some of her own, when she used to tag along with her mother to Quiapo. Her suki, Aling Ligaya did not scrimp on the “sahog” and did not use extenders. Here I quote verbatim.

“The menu consisted of traditional Filipino fare: arroz caldo or chicken to be eaten with tokwa’t baboy; pancit palabok, or pancit luglog, sotanghon na may sabaw, dinuguan to be eaten with puto, lumpia sariwa eaten with crushed garlic and peanuts, lumpia frito, ukoy.  Yummy desserts consisted of whole saba banana in thick syrup served with milk over crushed ice; sago gulaman and of course halo halo with real halo - without today’s “extenders” like gulaman, sago, camote and nata de coco which I personally dislike. The halo were rich and creamy leche flan, ube jaleya, real macapuno (not buko), beans, garbanzos, kaong, langka and red mongo tenderly cooked in syrup, crisp and fragrant pinipig.”

Thanks again Terra.

You have memories of bygone days?  Places, food, games, etc., write them to us to share to everyone else.

Reservists to help in rescue, anti crime, terrorism and insurgency?

The prospect of training and utilizing army reservists for rescue as well as anti crime, terrorism and insurgency operations was one of the major concerns discussed during the courtesy call on Lieutenant General Victor V. Ibrado, the Commanding General of the Philippine Army made by the ARESCOM’s 1501st Brigade (Ready Reserve) under the command of Col. Joseph R. Galam during a luncheon at the Philippine Army Officers Club at Fort Bonifacio. The Army’s new Commanding General was keen on organizing and training Special Operations Teams (SOT) in chosen Barangays all over the country.

The same group, whose operations center on the CAMANAVA areas also made a similar courtesy call on Brig. General Danilo M. Garcia, Commanding General of the Army Reserve Command (ARESCOM) to discuss objectives and plans for its area of responsibility. Present during the discussions were Col. Alexander G. Abogado, Chief of Staff and Lt. Col. Nestor M. Pedro, Asst. Chief of Staff for Intelligence.

Mabuhay!!!  Be proud to be a Filipino.      

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