Philippines seeks help to meet US sugar export quota

MANILA, Philippines - Local sugar traders have started to negotiate with their counterparts in Thailand to meet the additional sugar export requirement to the US, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said.

“Interested exporters are now discussing possible co-shipping with Thailand since the volume allotted by the US is now sufficient for a single vessel,” SRA administrator Ma. Regina Martin said.

On the sidelines of the trade reception for the International Year of Pulses, US Agricultural Attaché to the Philppines Jeffrey Albanese said they were confident that the Philippines would meet the additional volume required.

“The additional quota was awarded to the Philippines, which is about 10,000 metric tons more,” he added.

“We are committed to fill up the additional quota from Washington, and we are just waiting for the results of discussion between local trader and Thailand before we proceed,” Martin said.

Last month, the Philippines met the regular quota under SRA’s export replacement sugar after it shipped 135,508 MT to the US.

Philippine sugar producers are looking to export an additional 10,000 to 12,000 MT of sugar to Washington under the country-specific and first-come, first-served in-quota allocations under the tariff-rate quotas (TRQs).

The Philippines is one of the select countries given an annual allocation of sugar export to the US market at a premium.

The tariff-rate quotas allow the Philippines to export specified quantities of a product to the US at a relatively low tariff but subject all imports of the product above a pre-determined threshold to a higher tariff.