Negros Occ. governor to host sugar forum

BACOLOD CITY , Philippines -  - Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. will host a forum on sugar the sugar industry tomorrow (January 12) at a hotel in Talisay City.

The forum will be attended by presidents and representatives of three major sugar confederations in Negros Occidental: Confederation of Sugar Producers Association, United Federation of Sugar Planters, and National Federation of Sugar Planters.

Marañon will discuss with sugar leaders on his call for the producers to share with their employees their bonanza from the current good prices of sugar in the market.

Earlier reports have stated that some sugar producers have already begun sharing their bounty with their workers.

Marañon will also discuss on the need to take advantage of the current high prices to prepare for zero tariff on imported sugar in 2015.

"We need to work now at making our sugar production more efficient and competitive with the rest of the world by 2015," he said.

The Philippines currently has the highest cost of sugar production, Marañon said. "We need to make our production on the farms and in the mills more efficient, by exploring farm mechanization and investing in more research," he said.

The governor said the good prices of sugar may only last for two to three years so sugar leaders and producers must prepare now for the time when production in other countries normalizes that would cause the prices of our sugar here to drop.

Marañon also said there is a need to discuss the building of roads at sugar plantations in the province.

The forum will also discuss the rise of sugar prices in Manila which has been reportedly blamed on the producers here, a source said.

Negros Occidental supplies about 65 percent of the country's sugar needs so sugar producers in this province are affected whenever there are problems on sugar anywhere in the country, the source added.