SRA denies sugar import liberalization claims

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY — The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has categorically denied claims that the government is implementing sugar import liberalization, calling such statements “a blatant lie.”

Sugar Regulatory Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona made the statement on Sunday, Jan. 11, in response to allegations made by Save the Sugar Industry Movement (SAVE-SIM) convenor Wennie Sancho, who warned the sugar industry may collapse if an import liberalization scheme is pursued.

Azcona said he does not know where Sancho got his information, describing it as misinformation or “probably just a figment of his imagination.”

He cautioned Sancho and others to be more accurate in their statements, noting that unverified claims could further agitate an already volatile sugar market.

“We in SRA have been prudent in our pronouncements, especially as there are already so-called sugar leaders who have sabotaged our efforts to mitigate the drop in sugar prices,” Azcona said.

“Yet here is Sancho, who never even bothered to get accurate information from SRA, issuing negative statements that further fuel an already hurting sugar industry,” Azcona lamented.

Although he said he did not initially want to dignify Sancho’s claims, Azcona noted that several industry stakeholders urged him to respond after the allegations were published in the news without verification.

Sancho earlier raised concerns about the supposed “unrestricted entry of imported and subsidized sugar.”

In response, Azcona challenged him to present concrete proof of such claims, adding that SRA would welcome a comprehensive review should any sugar liberalization scheme truly exist.

“The last liberalization move was in 2016 or thereabouts, and the industry fought it squarely, so it did not happen. This is a thing of the past,” Azcona said.

He added, “It is clear this person thrives on misinformation and destabilization.”

Azcona also stressed that SRA, together with the Department of Agriculture, has been conducting continuous dialogues with sugar industry stakeholders, including traders, to explore ways to help sugar planters who have been battered by successive natural disasters and declining farm-gate prices.

He admitted, however, that it is frustrating that some industry players are bent on sabotaging government efforts.

“These so-called sugar leaders are asking the President and the national government to start buying sugar to help farmers, yet they are quick to criticize [the] government in a blink,” he said.

According to Azcona, the downtrend in sugar prices is caused by multiple factors, but he emphasized that it is “definitely not” due to alleged over-importation allowed by the government.

He also welcomed a possible congressional inquiry into the issue, saying it would help place the facts on record.

“No matter how many dialogues and meetings we conduct with some stakeholders, they remain hard of hearing and unwilling to accept facts other than their own,” Azcona added.

The SRA, a government agency that regulates the sugar industry through policy tools such as sugar orders and supply allocations, has long been at the center of debates over how imports affect domestic prices, especially during periods of market volatility.