DA says sugar imports remain market stabilization tool

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. assured the sugar industry Wednesday, Aug. 19, that importation is not the administration’s standing policy but a tool that may be used to stabilize prices and supply when temporary market gaps emerge.

Speaking at the 72nd Philippine Sugar Technologists Association Annual National Convention, Tiu Laurel said the government’s broader goal is to build a stronger, more productive, competitive, and self-reliant domestic sugar industry through technology and innovation.

He said imports may be authorized when domestic supply is temporarily insufficient to prevent excessive price volatility and protect consumers without undermining local producers.

Tiu Laurel pointed to the current allocation policy, under which import allocation is earned through the purchase of locally produced sugar.

The DA described the system as the first and most transparent allocation policy in the industry’s history because it removes the power to allocate import volumes from any individual official.

“Sugar importation is not the policy of this administration. It is a tool for price and market stabilization to be used when necessary and under clearly defined circumstances,” he said.

Tiu Laurel said the government is further refining the policy that will govern future sugar imports and intends to present it to industry stakeholders for consultation.

“In future importations, we will just import just enough for what the country needs. Not more, not less,” Tiu Laurel said.

He said the approach is designed to support market stability while giving the domestic industry room to improve its competitiveness.

“Our fundamental policy remains clear. We want a Philippine sugar industry that is stronger, more productive, more competitive, and more self-reliant,” he said.

Tiu Laurel said the industry continues to face serious challenges, including the red-striped soft scale insect, or RSSI, high production costs, rising input prices, labor shortages, limited access to technology and financing, and climate change.

Following First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos’ visit to Negros, stakeholders agreed to organize a National RSSI Task Force to consolidate government and industry responses to the pest.

The visit was attended by Reps. Albee and Javi Benitez, as well as representatives from the DA, Sugar Regulatory Administration, United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines, National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, and other stakeholders.

Tiu Laurel said the DA and SRA will lead the task force, with support from other government agencies, farmer organizations, millers, refiners, distillers, and workers.

“This will unify and consolidate all RSSI-related efforts,” he said, adding that the task force would also ensure that farmers are properly informed about available government programs, as well as the appropriate protocols and practices.

Tiu Laurel urged industry stakeholders to treat the sector’s mounting pressures as opportunities to modernize production and strengthen resilience.

“When we see a labor shortage, let us see an opportunity for mechanization. When we see climate risks, let us see an opportunity for climate-smart agriculture. When we see low productivity, let us see an opportunity for science, technology, and yes, a little more innovation than we have had in the past,” he said.

He said technological investment must ultimately produce measurable improvements in farmers’ incomes and operating conditions.

“Our farmers do not need technology for technology’s sake. They need technology that works,” he said.

“If a new technology cannot help a farmer produce more, reduce cost, save labor, manage risks, or earn better, then we have to ask ourselves a very simple question. What good is it?”

The DA has allocated PHP 300 million for 2027 to develop laboratories or incubation centers capable of producing biological agents in municipalities where sugarcane is planted.

The funding is intended to prepare for a possible resurgence of the pest identified elsewhere in the release as RSSI, although the source text referred to “RFSI” in describing the program.

The planned laboratories form part of the government’s effort to strengthen local capacity to respond quickly to future pest outbreaks rather than rely solely on emergency interventions.

Tiu Laurel said the industry must move beyond measures that merely help farmers endure difficult production seasons.

“We have to build an industry that can anticipate problems, adapt quickly, and come out stronger than this,” he said.

“Good things take time, but we also know that nothing gets sweetened without hard work,” he added.