Food processors push for sugar imports

MANILA, Philippines — The competitiveness of the domestic food processing industry may be threatened if the government will not allow the special importation of 100,000 metric tons of sugar following the high prices of the local commodity.

The Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Confederation (Philfoodex) is urging the the Sugar Regulatory Administration to allow the special importation of 100,000 metric tons of sugar amid soaring prices of the commodity.

In an interview with The STAR, Philfoodex president Bobby Amores said the competitiveness of the domestic food processing industry could be threatened if the government would not allow the special importation of sugar.

Philfoodex made this request even as the SRA earlier this week issued guidelines on the importation of 150,000 MT for end-users of sugar or sugar-using industries provided they are SRA-registered international sugar traders.

“The worst case scenario is that domestic processors will never be competitive anymore,” Philfoodex president Bobby Amores told The STAR on the sidelines of Agrilink 2018.

“Traders and importers will continuously import the same products containing the same ingredient of sugar from ASEAN at preferential tariff rates. If the manufacturing sector slows down, employment problems may crop up,” he said.

Amores said the industry wants a separate and exclusive importation of 100,000 MT equivalent to two million bags for the processing industry.

“The sugar industry has already made a pronouncement that sugar production will decline by five to seven percent. Then all the more reason that importation should be allowed in order to make domestic processors competitive and not to the detriment of sugar farmers,” Amores said.

Sugar prices in ASEAN neighbors particularly Thailand and Vietnam range from P25 to P28 per kilogram,.

Imported sugar from neighbouring countries is currently priced at $390 per MT which means that the landed price should be about P26 per kilo.