Sugar gate prices down – lawmaker

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Amid sugar importation by the government, gate prices for the sweetener have gone down from P3,300 to P2,800 per 50-kilogram bag, according to Rep. Emilio Yulo III of the fifth district of Negros Occidental.

Yulo, a former board member of the Sugar Regulatory Administration, said the SRA should manage the gate prices of sugar to protect small sugarcane farmers.

“It is important to maintain the profitability level of our farmers,” Yulo said. “This is the only time that they, especially those in the hinterlands, can mill as summer approaches.”

He said it is too early to say if the decrease in the prices of the commodity was a result of the entry of smuggled sugar into the country.

“Sugar is a political commodity. It is easily affected by the current scenario and environment. I presume that the decrease in the gate prices is a product of the concerns aired by industry stakeholders and not of these allegations,” Yulo said.

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson warned that the drop in the gate prices of sugar would badly affect the small farmers, who are mostly based in Negros.

Lacson said that excessive sugar importation would drive down the gate prices and affect the industry.

Meanwhile, a group of sugar workers in Nasugbu, Batangas has threatened to go on strike due to alleged unfair labor practices by their employers.

The National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines yesterday reported that workers of the Central Azucarera Don Pedro Inc. (CADPI) had voted to go on strike.

Union officials and members earlier filed a notice of strike before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board, which is currently conducting hearings to address the issue and prevent work stoppage.

Yesterday, members of the CADPI union staged a picket in front of the sugar mill.

They accused the management of union interference, intimidation and harassment. They asked the company to resume raw sugar mill operations and compensate the workers affected by its closure.