MANILA, Philippines — Consumers need not worry of sugar supply for the coming Christmas season as production of the commodity has increased 22 percent resulting to lower prices.
Latest data from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) showed that local raw-sugar production reached 249,837 metric tons (MT) as of last month.
The current production is higher than the 203,991 MT recorded in the same period in 2017. Sugar crop year starts every September and ends in August.
Based on data on sugar production for crop year 2018-2019, output in terms of 50-kilogram bags totalled to 4.9 million from 4.07 million in the comparative period.
The country’s raw-sugar demand was also 50 percent lower at 4.4 million MT from the 2017 level of 8.7 million MT.
The total sugarcanes milled during the period was 2.8 million MT, 16 percent higher than last year’s 2.4 million.
In terms of refined sugar, production increased 51 percent to 100,400 MT from 66,564 MT recorded in the same period in 2017.
Following the importation a few months ago, farm gate price of the commodity has now dropped to the P1,500-level after breaching the P2,000 per 50-kilogram mark.
Latest projections showed the Philippines is seen producing 2.25 million MT of raw sugar this crop year.
This is seven percent higher than the 2.1 million MT output in the previous crop year which experienced unfavorable weather conditions and decrease in production area.
This as consumption of cane sugar will remain strong despite high sugar prices and increased taxes on sugar sweetened beverages as soft drink manufacturers increase the usage of cane sugar and shift away from high fructose corn syrup use.