SRA exec says gov’t mulls buying sugar directly from farmers

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Administrator Paul Azcona said the national government is seriously studying to buy sugar directly from the farmers to address the clamor of sugar producers against plummeting prices.

Azcona also told reporters yesterday that so far, there will be no sugar importation.

He also said that he believes President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is already aware of the sugar farmers’ dilemma.

Azcona explained that SRA will not be the agency that will undertake the scheme of buying sugar directly from the farmers due to legal concerns.

He said SRA is also clearing possible legal impediments for this undertaking as well as looking into the possible efforts the government could make.

“If we have done it with rice farmers maybe we can also do it with the sugar farmers to help them out,” he added.

He said the scheme is to buy sugar from the farmers at a higher price and sell it at a lower price.

“It’s all in the works now, “Azcona.

As to questions whether the price of sugar is being manipulated, Azcona said it could be the situation, citing that while the millgate and farmgate price of sugar is low, the retail price remains high.

He pointed out importation is being put on hold because this will further pull down the price of sugar.

Azcona assured though there is enough supply of sugar.

Earlier, the Sugar Council, comprising three federations and producing more than half of the national sugar output, reiterated their call for timely government intervention.

In a press statement, they also called as well for a united action to address urgent critical issues faced by the industry.

“We urgently appeal to Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., thru Agriculture Sec. Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. and Sugar Regulatory Administrator Pablo Luis S. Azcona, to adopt measures to stop the decline in farmgate sugar prices and bring retail prices to more reasonable levels, even as the industry continues to seek ways to remain viable in the face of adversity,” the press statement further said.

Steep price drops threaten farmers’ viability even as retail prices remain high SRA records showed, the Council noted.

It said that millgate raw sugar prices per 50-kilo bag dropped from an earlier average high of P2,825 per bag in Week Ending (WE) September 10, 2023 to an average of P2,552 (WE Oct. 10) and P2,564 (WE Nov.19).

In comparison, the Council recalled that millgate prices for Week Ending November 20, 2022 averaged P3,380.56 per bag.

“With production and labor costs on the rise, farmers are hard-pressed to remain viable at today’s low millgate prices,” the Sugar Council opined.

Despite the price decline, however, the group pointed out that prevailing retail sugar prices have remained high at P80/kilo for raw and P100/kilo for refined, which the Council said benefits neither farmers nor consumers.

The Sugar Council is composed of the Confederation of Sugar Producers’ Associations, Inc. (CONFED), the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP), and the Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers (PANAYFED), led respectively by their Presidents Aurelio Gerardo J. Valderrama, Jr. (CONFED), Enrique D. Rojas (NFSP) and Danilo A. Abelita (PanayFed).