Allow sugar importation for all stakeholders

MANILA, Philippines — Sugar stakeholders want the importation of 350,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar proposed by the Sugar Regulatory Authority (SRA) to be open to all to benefit vulnerable sectors affected by rising sugar prices.

In a statement, SRA board member Roland Beltran, who represents the milling sector,questioned why the importation program is being limited to a particular class of importers.

“Why not make the importation program all inclusive? Why not allow the major stakeholders to participate in the importation program rather than favoring a particular class of importers to the prejudice of the sugar industry, as well as the economy in general,” Beltran said.

“It is my position that the sugar importation program should be made available equitably to major stakeholders and to benefit the sari-sari stores, wet markets, groceries and supermarkets.  These are the vulnerable sectors of our society that are principally affected by the rising prices of sugar,” said Beltran who has not yet signed the draft proposal.

Based on draft Sugar Order (SO) 4, the SRA plans to implement a sugar import program for the current crop year that will allow the importation of 100,000 MT of raw sugar and 250,000 MT of refined sugar.

The draft proposal states that the importation of sugar will be open to industrial users of sugar, who are registered with the SRA as international sugar traders.

Former SRA board planters representative Emilio Bernadino Yulo III echoed Beltran’s sentiment, saying that the importation program should not be exclusive to industrial users and “must be justifiable to dispel doubts.”

“(SRA administrator Hermenegildo) Serafica should not use prevailing prices affecting domestic consumers as a smokescreen when they are clearly not going to directly benefit from this new sugar order,” Yulo said.

“He should make the importation all inclusive and allow stakeholders to participate in the importation program rather than making it exclusive to a particular sector to the prejudice of the majority of stakeholders,” he said.

According to the SRA,  the final crop estimate for the crop year, which ends in August, is projected to drop further to 1.982 million MT from an earlier estimate of 2.072 million MT as of Jan.20.

With the lower estimated production, the stock balance of domestic raw sugar will only be  27,337.97 MT, while the stock balance for refined sugar will be only about 36,576.05 MT at the end of the crop year or Aug. 31.

“Average raw sugar withdrawals for the past three years is 167,276 MT per month, while the average refined sugar withdrawals for the past three years is 88,504.57 MT, consequently, there is a lull/gap in production of sugar in between the end of the milling/refining season and the start of the next season wherein a comfortable volume of stock balance is needed to cover demand until production for the next season builds up,” the SRA said.

Serafica said  the importation program would ensure the country’s food security.

With various opposition to the draft proposal from sugar groups, as well as senators, Serafica claimed that the issue on the importation of sugar has become “very political.”

“What the detractors of importation have failed to consider is the issue on food security, in particular, the availability of supply and the issue on affordability of sugar,” Serafica said.

Yulo said  there is no politics involved in the opposition of planters to the draft proposal, emphasizing that it is a matter of survival for the industry.

“Obviously amid the prevailing circumstances wherein fertilizers and fuel costs are soaring, Serafica should not expect planters to take this sitting down, especially when it is very clear that the new sugar order will benefit a particular sector, in this case, the industrial users and the bottlers’ group,” Yulo said.

“Any hint of sugar importation rumor, especially in such quantity and allocation, is prone to a price drop as evidenced in the previous release of Sugar Order 3, which fortunately was halted by the courts,” he said.

Yulo said that a week before SO 3 was issued there was an immediate price drop of P30 to P40 per bag of sugar. When it was published, the drop in sugar prices ranged between P150 to P200 per 50-kilo bag.

In February, the SRA issued SO 3, which allowed the importation of 200,000 MT of refined sugar.