This will help lift the declining farmagate prices.
Recently, the Department of Agriculture (DA) approved the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA)’s plan to export 100,000 metric tons of raw sugar to the USA.
According to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., allocating part of the record harvest for export under the US tariff-rate quota will help reduce supply of raw sugar and ease the downward trend of framgate prices.
“We will export raw sugar under the US quota system as soon as possible to provide the industry immediate relief,” said Tiu Laurel.
The export plan comes after the DA and SRA previously extended the moratorium on sugar imports until December 2026—a move that aims to maintain protection for domestic producers as raw sugar output improves and inventories remain high.
The US import quota was originally set at around 143,000 metric tons, but this season’s available allocation was gradually reduced by the US Refiners to 100,000 tons “due to delays in the country’s decision to participate,” the DA revaled.
It also noted the quota prices under the US system are typically higher than world market levels, which will give exporters a more lucrative outlet compared with selling on global spot markets.
For his part, SRA administrator Pablo Luis Azcona noted that the country’s raw sugar production has been increasing in the past three years.
“It will be the third year (of exporting) now, and the volume exported is growing as well, from 33,000 tons to 66,000, and now 100,000 tons. The last two years exports of raw sugar has helped increase our farmer prices, and this year, this is a much needed step that our farmers need,” Azcona detailed.
He added, “We cannot take the suggestion of just sitting and doing nothing. Our farmers are the backbone of this industry, they need our intervention.”
“There are a lot of long term solution suggestions, but we need a short term solution to quickly help the farmers now. All the suggestions sent to us will be looked into and considered, as it entails time, and our farmers cannot wait,” Azcona furthered.
Meanwhile, he also raised concerns over artificial sweeteners, which he said the increasing supply might dilute the demand for sugar in the market.
In line with this, Tiu Laurel said agriculture department will closely monitor the importation of artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes. He also mulled the possible regulation on the entry of the likes of chemical sweeteners, if market disruptions persist.
Moreover, he has asked the Department of Health to review potential public health implications of widespread use of intense sweetening agents, which are often hundreds of times sweeter than sugar.