Sugar production target raised to 2.356 MMT

MANILA, Philippines - The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has set a sugar production target of 2.356 million metric tons (MMT) for crop year 2012-2013, up by five percent from the total raw sugar production volume of 2.243 MMT for crop year 2011-2012.

The SRA also lowered the export allocation of “D” sugar or world marker sugar to eight percent of the total production from the previous 20 percent as domestic prices remain competitive to other markets.

SRA administrator Regina Bautista-Martin said the target production for crop year 2012-2013 may still be revised depending on weather patterns in the following months.

Considering the supply and demand scenarios for the United States, domestic and world markets, the Sugar Board promulgated the following allocations: ‘A” or US sugar, 10 percent; “B” or domestic sugar 82 percent; “D” or world market sugar, eight percent.

Martin said that with this allocation, the country would be able to meet the regular US quota of 138,827 MT, a buffer stock for possible additional US quota of around 61,993 MT, around 2.03 million MT for domestic demand including buffer stocks and around 247,000 MT for the world market.

Crop year 2011-2012 ended with a total raw sugar production of 2.243 million MT and an estimated ending balance of 30,144 MT for US quota sugar, 143,661 MT for domestic sugar and 58,793 MT for world market sugar.