BACOLOD City – The sugar planters’ groups are calling for timely government intervention to address urgent critical issues faced by the industry, particularly in stopping the decline in farmgate sugar prices.
In a statement, the Sugar Council reiterated the call to bring retail prices to more reasonable levels.
The Sugar Council is represented by three federations that comprise more than half of the national sugar output. It 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 by their respective presidents, Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama, Jr., Enrique Rojas, and Danilo Abelita.
The council stated, “We urgently appeal to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., through Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr., and Sugar Regulatory Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona, to adopt measures… even as the industry continues to seek ways to remain viable in the face of adversity.”
According to the Sugar Council, as they noted the record from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), millgate raw sugar prices per 50-kilo bag dropped from an earlier average high of P2,825 per bag in the week ending (WE) Sept. 10, to an average of P2,552 (WE Oct. 10) and P2,564 (WE Nov. 19).
In comparison, the council recalled that millgate prices for WE on Nov. 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 said.
Despite the price decline, however, the group pointed out that prevailing retail sugar prices have remained high at P80 per kilo for raw and P100 per kilo for refined, which the council said benefits neither farmers nor consumers./PN
