NFSP, Panayfed seek SRA explanation for sugar price plunge

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY — The National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) and the Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers (Panayfed) backed the call of the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations (CONFED) for the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to explain the sharp decline in sugar and molasses prices at the start of the current milling season.

In a joint statement Monday, NFSP president Enrique D. Rojas and Panayfed president Danilo A. Abelita said sugarcane farmers “deserve an explanation why sugar and molasses prices have dropped to a level much lower than during the opening of last crop year.”

Their statement came in response to CONFED president Aurelio Gerardo J. Valderrama Jr.’s open letter to SRA Administrator Pablo Luis S. Azcona on Oct. 10, which called for transparency and decisive action on what it described as a “worsening crisis” in the sugar industry.

CONFED’s letter noted a steep drop in sugar and molasses prices, attributing it to over-importation that “flooded the market, depressed prices, and left producers without buyers,” along with the “unmonitored influx of artificial sweeteners” disrupting demand.

The group said the SRA, which has real-time access to data on sugar supply and withdrawals, could have averted the situation had it fulfilled its mandate to maintain balance between production and consumption to ensure stable and fair prices.

“The situation we now face is not simply an unfortunate market trend but the result of poor planning, lack of coordination, and failure to protect the industry from foreseeable risks,” CONFED stated.

Rojas and Abelita said the current drop — from PHP 2,800 to PHP 2,700 per bag last crop year to only PHP 2,200 to PHP 2,300 per bag last week — has dealt a major blow to planters who are already struggling with rising production costs and the impact of the RSSI infestation.

They recalled that during a July 7, 2025, consultative meeting, NFSP, Panayfed, and CONFED warned the SRA that sugar importation should be limited to 150,000 metric tons and that any additional importation should be subject to stakeholder consultation.

“SRA should explain why this drastic drop in sugar and molasses prices happened, however, an explanation is not enough,” the two federations emphasized.

“Our planter-members and all sugar farmers deserve to know what tangible actions the SRA will implement to remedy this sorry state of affairs in the industry.”