Philippines starts filling up US sugar quota

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has started the process of filling up the sugar quota for the US market.

Based on the latest sugar order released, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has advised traders and exporters to apply with the agency for export allocations and quedan-permits for verification and processing.

The US has allocated for the Philippines an initial quota of 136,201 metric tons for the current crop year which started last month and will end in August 2019.

The Philippines is one of the select countries given an annual allocation of sugar export to the US market at a premium.

According to the SRA, the US quota allocation will be allocated among the sugar exporters on a “first come-first served” basis.

Likewise, all sugar shipments to the US will be made on a “first-in, first-out” basis.

In the event the exporter shall have sold his verified “A” quedan-permits to another party, the allocation of the said exporter is deemed cancelled, in which case, the said “A” quedan-permits shall be again subject to verification by the SRA for allocation on a “first come-first served” basis.

The SRA classifies sugar into “A” for sugar for export to the US, “B” for domestic consumption, “C” for reserves, “D” for export to countries other than the US and “E” for local food processors.

The Philippines has allocated bulk of its target production for the crop year for the domestic market with expected improvements in total output.

Of the total sugar production, 95 percent will go to the the domestic market, while the remaining five percent will be for the US market.

The Philippines expects to produce 2.225 million MT of sugar for the crop year.

This is seven percent higher than this year’s production of 2.08 million MT.

However, the 2017 output failed to reach SRA’s target of 2.1 million MT.