SRA allows imports as replacement for US sugar quota

MANILA, Philippines — The Sugar Regulatory Administration has approved the importation of sugar as replacement for the quota for the US market in a bid to address the gap in domestic supply.

In a recent order, SRA approved the “A” sugar export replenishment program for the current crop year.

The Philippines started filling up the US sugar quota last December.

“To replenish the volume when exported to the US and restore domestic supply of sugar with more processed and valued refined sugar, an ‘A’ sugar export replenishment program has to be implemented,” SRA said.

“An ‘A’ sugar export replenishment program shall benefit farmers as it will increase the value of their ‘A’ sugar quedans,” it said.

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 food local processors.

The US has allocated an initial quota of 142,160 metric tons for the Philippines for the current crop year which started in September and would end in August this year.

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

Under the program, exporters of “A” sugar may import a corresponding volume of sugar that they exported at a ratio of 1:1 raw equivalent.

This is provided that the volume of sugar that an exporter may import shall not exceed the volume of “A” sugar it exported.

If the replenishment shall be in raw form,  SRA shall require the imported raw sugar to be tolled in a local refinery prior to reclassification.

SRA said only “A” sugar quedans issued for the current crop year are covered by the replenishment program.

It added that exporters may import once the SRA board has determined that replenishment is needed through the issuance of a separate order.

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

Bulk or 99 percent of the total sugar production will be for the domestic market while the remaining five percent will be for the US market.

The Philippines expects to produce 2.096 million MT of sugar for the crop year, 23,000 MT higher than last year’s actual production of 2.073 million MT.