Sugar Planters Praise DA, SRA for Import Pause

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY – The National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) has expressed gratitude to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr. and Sugar Regulatory Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona for deferring sugar importation until mid-2025.

“The NFSP expresses its gratitude to Sec. Laurel and Administrator Azcona for making a clear statement that there will be no importation until the middle of next year. We praise them for unequivocally stating their support for our local sugarcane farmers,” NFSP President Enrique D. Rojas said in a press statement Monday.

“Our farmers are happy with this statement. We all know that importation caused the big drop in sugar prices last crop year. Now that the threat of sugar importation is deferred until the end of the harvest season, we expect sugar prices to firm up,” Rojas added.

The joint decision by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) was published in major national and local media outlets Monday. According to Laurel and Azcona, the decision was based on the stability and sufficiency of the domestic sugar supply, both raw and refined, to meet current demand.

The SRA projected at the start of the milling season last September that domestic raw sugar production for Crop Year 2024-2025 would reach 1.78 million metric tons, while domestic raw sugar withdrawals were estimated at 2.20 million metric tons.

In a statement Monday, Azcona said the SRA needs a clearer assessment of the domestic sugar supply, citing the erratic start to the current milling season. He noted that the total volume of canes milled was only one-third of last year’s volume for the same period.

Azcona also observed a 16% decrease in sugar yield per ton of cane compared to the previous year, attributing this to prolonged dry spells caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

Rojas reported that last week, sugar prices slightly dipped to around PHP 2,850 per 50-kilo bag at Hawaiian Philippine Company and First Farmers Holding. This was lower than the more than PHP 2,900 per bag recorded at the same mills over the past four weeks.

“With this statement from the DA and SRA that there will be no importation until the end of the harvest, sugar farmers look forward to prices rising to the PHP 3,000 per bag level,” Rojas said.

Earlier, top officials from the DA and SRA confirmed that no sugar importation would occur until mid-2025. The decision followed a meeting on November 7 between Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr., SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona, Board Member Dave Sanson, and Andre Corro.

In a press statement provided by the SRA on Sunday, Tiu-Laurel stated there is no immediate need for additional imports as the domestic supply of raw and refined sugar remains stable and sufficient for projected needs.

“Given the current situation, Administrator Azcona and I agreed that a decision on sugar importation could be delayed until after May, when the current harvest season ends,” Tiu-Laurel said.