DA, SRA ask importers: Sell P70/kilo sugar

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has asked importers to commit their sugar allocation to be sold through government at P70 per kilogram.

The DA, in coordination with the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), has asked each importer under the Sugar Importation Policy for Crop Year 2022-2023 to commit 10 percent of their imported sugar allocation to be sold through DA at P70 per kilo to have ample supply of affordable sugar.

The DA-SRA said it would start selling sugar at P70 per kilo in the agency’s Quezon City and Bacolod City offices. Sugar sold would be for direct consumers and not for resale. Kadiwa rolling stores and Kadiwa on Wheels will also be selling sugar at the same price to make sugar affordable and accessible to consumers.

Earlier, the DA said it was coordinating with the SRA to implement a suggested retail price (SRP) on refined sugar. A series of meetings will be conducted with SRA and stakeholders to control the price of sugar.

In coming up with the SRP, the DA said it would be looking into supply as imported and local sugar flow into the markets to ensure producers will not be disadvantaged and consumers can afford it. ?As Oct. 14, SRA has issued clearances for imported sugar to 13 international sugar traders with a total volume of 33,772.50 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar intended for consumers and end-users.

Part of this sugar will be distributed/sold at P70-80 per kilo to various groceries and supermarkets as well as public and wet markets through the Kadiwa Project of the DA and SRA.

Aside from this, the SRA issued clearances for 6,625 MT of sugar intended for industrial users, expected to arrive in October and November.

BOC seizes P228 million sugar

About P228 million worth of sugar smuggled from Thailand were seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at the Manila International Container Terminal in Tondo, Manila yesterday.

BOC acting Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz said they have issued two warrants of seizure and detention against the over 19,000 metric tons of imported cane refined sugar that arrived in the country on Sept. 24. Ruiz said the shipment did not have import clearance from the SRA.

The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) also recommended that a warrant of seizure and detention be issued against the shipment “due to lack of the requisite Clearance for Release of Imported Sugar being issued by the SRA in violation of Sections 117 and 1113 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.” – Louise Maureen Simeon, Neil Jayson Servallos