Sugar industry wants further delay in milling season

MANILA, Philippines — The sugarcane industry is considering delaying the start of the milling season until the end of next month to give more time for canes to mature and develop more sugar content.

The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has received proposals from both planters and millers to further delay by two weeks the scheduled opening of the milling season.

Last year, the SRA announced that the milling season in the upcoming crop year 2024-2025 would start on Sept. 15, which is already two weeks later than the beginning of the crop year on Sept. 1.

The proposal came about as the industry observed that standing sugarcane crops are still immature, with some being replanted just a few months ago due to the adverse effects of the drier and hotter weather conditions caused by the El Niño phenomenon.

Sugar industry stakeholders have been asked by the SRA to agree on whether they would delay the milling season further to ensure streamlined operations on the ground.

SRA administrator and CEO Pablo Luis Azcona sees the further delay in the milling season as a win-win situation since farmers would have better yield, while millers would enjoy undisrupted operations, avoiding incurring any additional costs.

“The proposals came from farmers and millers, as their surveys show there is very little cane ready for Sept. 15 to Oct. 15,” Azcona told The Star.

“Another two weeks will add a bit more maturity to the cane,” Azcona added, noting that the start of the milling season could fall on either Sept. 22 or 29.

United Sugar Producers Federation president Manuel Lamata said much of the sugarcane on the farms is still green, indicating that they are still growing and have yet to reach maturity.

“The sugar content of every stalk is still low. This was due to El Niño, and rains came late. Let the canes mature further,” Lamata said.

Industry sources said sugar millers are amenable to further delaying the start of their mill operations, recognizing that the growth of the sugarcanes has been stunted.

Big industry players like Victorias Milling Co. Inc. and Universal Robina Corp. do not have any objections to the adjustment of the milling schedule, according to the SRA.