Sugar Regulatory Administration: No sugar imports despite lower harvest

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will not import sugar despite the continuous decline in local production, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said.

The SRA Board said there was no need to import sugar for domestic consumption despite declining raw-sugar production in the past few months.

“There is no shortage of sugar.  SRA data show we will be able to reach our target production with enough buffer stock at the end of the milling season,” SRA administrator Hermenegildo Serafica said.

Local raw-sugar production continued its decline, falling to 1.5 million metric tons (MT) as of the end of March.

Current production is 11 percent lower than the 1.7 million MT recorded in the same period  last year. Sugar crop year starts every September and ends in August.

Based on data on sugar production for crop year 2017-2018, output of 50-kilogram bags dropped to 30 million from 34 million.

The country’s raw-sugar demand was also 10 percent higher at 1.28 million MT.

The declining output prompted the SRA to cut down its exports to the world market and instead allocate more for domestic consumption.

The total number of sugarcanes milled was 17.4 million during the period, eight percent lower than last year’s 18.9 million even as more mills started milling in the first quarter.

Production of refined sugar increased by  six percent to 570,200 MT.

Sugar prices in the mill gate have started to improve, rising by 17 percent to P1,539 per 50-kg bag.

Wholesale prices for raw, washed, and refined sugar have slightly increased but retail prices of the commodity remain low.