Sugar millers given 3 weeks to slash prices

MANILA, Philippines - The National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) has given sugar millers three weeks to drop their prices to around P50 per kilo. Otherwise, the agency said it would impose price controls.

At the same time, NPCC chairman Gregory L. Domingo confirmed The STAR’s report yesterday that flour prices would go up further. “The situation of flour is really dire because wheat prices have more than doubled in the world market,” Domingo said in Filipino. Cooking oil prices have likewise gone up to a high of P50 per 375 ml bottle from only P32 per 375 ml bottle a month ago.

Domingo also said that they have not yet declared any suggested retail price (SRP) for sugar because the Sugar Regulatory Authority (SRA) has assured them that the supply will increase in the next two to three weeks. As such, Domingo said that they agreed to have another meeting in two to three weeks at which time they will assess if the prices of sugar have indeed gone down.

Domingo said that sugar prices must reach the P50’s level. Domingo said that the SRA reported that the supply of sugar has already gone up. He said that milling is in full gear and that the inventory is already in the warehouse. Last year, the price of refined sugar is only at P54 per kilo. Now it ranges from a low of P62 per kilo to a high of P70 per kilo.

The production gap in sugar is 222,000 metric tons because the production of millers as of Jan. 10 is only 200,000 metric tons. The expected full year production of sugar is 1.96 million metric tons. The decision to impose price control or import sugar will be made after the meeting.

For her part, SRA Administrator Regina B. Martin said that there has been a delay in the milling that is why they were not able to deliver their promise of lower sugar prices by this year. Martin said there should be no price control because “there is enough supply. We should allow market forces to taper off. Right now let’s follow the market forces.”

“There is no need to import. We have to wait and see,” Martin stressed. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has been closely monitoring sugar prices because it affects other commodities like bread.

Meanwhile, Domingo said wheat price in the world market has been going up. From Jan. 1 until now, price has gone up by 15 percent because of the high demand from Brazil, India and China. In same vein, wheat producing countries like Canada has been experiencing problems. Currently flour price is at P820 to P830 per bag and is expected to go up to P850 per bag.

“Today’s prices (of wheat) are at its highest level. Two years ago the price of flour was at P980 per bag,” Domingo said. In spite of this statement, he refused to confirm if price will go up to P1,000 per bag.

For cooking oil, Domingo said that he is not surprised that price has been going up because of the high global demand. Copra prices have reached an all time high of P65 per kilo from only P20.39 during the same period a year ago.