Sugar prices spike slightly in supermarkets, groceries

MANILA, Philippines - Sugar prices, as monitored by the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (DA-BAS), reflected a slight spike in some supermarkets and groceries as of May 5.

On the other hand, the May 11 monitoring by the DA-BAS of retail prices in wet markets in Blumentritt, Muntinlupa, Quiapo, Pasig, Pasay and Cubao showed sugar selling at a band of P48 to P52 per kilo for refined sugar; from P42 to P48 for washed sugar and from P40 to P46 for raw sugar.

The May 5 survey of retail prices in groceries and supermarkets in Metro Manila showed sugar retailing from a low of P46.20 per kilo to P55.10 for refined sugar; from P41 to P52.50 for washed sugar and from P39.50 to P51.50 for raw sugar.

However, farmgate prices of domestic sugar have gone down to P1,600 per 50-kilogram bag for raw sugar from the previous high in December-January and February of P2,000/lkg, while refined sugar is down to P1,900/lkg from P2,500 in December-January and February, according to Sugar Regulatory Authority (SRA) head Bernardo Trebol.

During Friday’s third auction for the right to import 22,700 metric tons of sugar, retailers and repackers finally snapped up the remaining allocation of 15,850 metric tons allotted for retailers/repackers with at least one trader offering a premium on the performance bond bid for the right to import sugar.

Initially, traders had complained that the ceiling imposed by the SRA on the landed cost of imported sugar of P1,700 for raw sugar and P2,300 for refined were too high.

Thus, retailers and repackers basically stayed on the sidelines during the first two auctions.