Entire sugar output in 2016 reserved for domestic consumption

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is seen to allocate 100 percent of its sugar production for crop year 2015-2016 for domestic consumption to protect supply and prices amid strong demand, the Sugar Regulatory Administration said.

SRA Administrator Ma. Regina Martin said while the agency is inclined to allocate 100 percent of the sugar produced as “B” sugar or domestic sugar, it has not completely ruled out a possible reallocation for the world market.

“We will do a monthly monitoring and can adjust as needed,” she said.

For now, “the focus is on domestic supply,” Martin said.

The SRA is expected to issue a formal sugar allocation order next month.

For the incoming crop year that starts in September 2015 and ends in August next year, the Philippines expects to produce2.3 million metric tons  of sugar, the same as the closing crop year as a stronger El Nino is expected to hit the country by the fourth quarter of the year.

This production level, Martin said, is sufficient to cover the traditional domestic demand of 2.2 million MT.

Martin said the SRA is studying ways to be able to comply with the US sugar export quota, represented by “A” sugar quedans.

The United States has raised the Philippines’ sugar export allocation for crop year 2015 to 2016 despite incurring shortfall in deliveries in the previous cropping season.

In June, the Philippines stopped sugar exports to the United States and other global markets to protect domestic supply and prices as the prevailing dry spell slashed production expectations.

The Philippines received an allocation of 142, 160 metric tons raw value for crop year 2015 to 2016, up from the export allocation of 138, 800 MTVR in the current crop year.