THE Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) assured the public there is no supply shortage and they are working to lower the commodity’s price to P85 per kilo.
“Our imported [sugar] in the market at the moment is about 116,000 tons compared to the local. The local is about 1.7 million tons. So, very big difference,” SRA acting chief Pablo Luis Azcona told ANC’s “Rundown” yesterday.
He made the statement after the agency was called over high sugar prices despite the arrival of thousands of metric tons of imported sugar.
Azcona was appointed in April as the acting administrator and chief executive officer of the SRA.
Prior to his new post, he was an SRA board member since August last year representing sugar planters.
Moreover, the SRA is weighing the option of selling confiscated smuggled sugar in supermarkets as well.
“If they allow that then we will be able to sell the Kadiwa sugar in the big chains as well, at P70,” said Azcona.
Based on Department of Agriculture’s latest records, the lowest price of white sugar in Metro Manila markets is P86 per kilo, which is P1 higher than the SRA’s target suggested retail price (SRP) of P85 per kilo.
The SRA also said that based on its calculations, despite the higher production costs, the current farm gate price of sugar is only P60.
“Based on our farm gate and based on the amount of supply that we have, medyo sobra talaga ‘yung price sa retail price. ‘Yung sapat po na retail price based on the situation sa ngayon po, ‘yung sinasabi natin P85 to P90 retail price ng refined, ‘yun po talaga fair price as of this moment,” Azcona said. (ABS-CBN News/GMA News)
