BACOLOD City – The Confederation of Sugarcane Producers’ Associations (CONFED) is asking the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to begin consulting with the industry to discuss sugar policy for crop year 2024-2025.
This comes after CONFED president Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama, Jr. received reports expressing concern about government’s plan to import a specific volume of refined sugar, or 200,000 metric tons, by September.
“The report did not include any basis for such a plan. Neither was any stakeholder consultation conducted,” he explained.
Recently, CONFED ,though its president, wrote a letter to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel, Jr. to share that current available data from the SRA, dated June 9, 2024, indicate adequate sugar inventory levels of both raw (436,229 MT) and refined (492,985 MT) sugar.
Current rates of withdrawal indicate that local inventory can last without importation until the start of the milling season later this year, Valderrama stated.
He pointed out that the SRA has not yet announced official start of milling for crop year 2024-2025, and no crop estimates has been made for the new crop year, which has been affected by the El Niño phenomenon.
“Consistent with our frequently-stated position, we reiterate that any sugar importation plan should be data-based, calibrated, totally transparent and fair, done in consultation with industry stakeholders and therefore immune from speculation and manipulation,” Valderrama pointed out.
On the other hand, the United Sugar Producers Federation (UNIFED) has agreed with the plan of the Department of Agriculture to import refined sugar.
This will fill in the shortage before harvest season starts in September, according to UNIFED president Manual Lamata./PN
