Phl gets add’l sugar export quota to US

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has received an additional sugar export allocation from the US.

In a statement posted on the website of the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), the agency said it has given the Philippines an additional sugar allocation of 14,199 metric tons in raw value (MTRV) equivalent to 13,604 MT in commercial weight.

The new allocation is on top of the 138,000 MT in commercial weight of tariff rate quota (TRQ) for raw cane sugar allocated to the Philippines by the USTR for crop year 2013-2014 announced last year.

The TRQ allows countries to export specified quantities of a product to the US at a low tariff.

The additional volume given to the Philippines forms part of the 99,290 MTRV of the original TRQ for raw cane sugar reallocated by the USTR.

 “Based on consultations with quota holding countries, USTR is reallocating 99,290 MTRV of the original TRQ for raw cane sugar from countries that have stated they will be unable to fill previously allocated FY (fiscal year) 2014 WTO (World Trade Organization) raw sugar TRQ quantities,” the USTR said.

Aside from the Philippines, 24 other countries received additional sugar allocations.

Sugar Regulatory Administration Administrator Ma. Regina Bautista-Martin said in a text message yesterday though the agency has yet to receive formal notice of the additional sugar allocation. “I am not aware of any reallocation for now,” she said.

To date, the Philippines has shipped out 59,440 MT of sugar to the US.

Martin said 31,965.75 MT has finished loading and the shipment will be leaving for the US on July 7, while another 31,265 MT will be shipped by the third week of July.

By the end of the month, she said a total of 122,671 MT of sugar should have been shipped to the US.