Metro Manila, July 11 ----- The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has approved the importation of 150,000 metric tons of refined sugar through Sugar Order No. 7.
This will be the third sugar import program for crop year 2022-2023, and the second import program for 2023, the SRA said in its order. Earlier this year, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the concurrent agriculture secretary, greenlit the importation. “The intention of this sugar import program is to ensure sufficient actual supply for domestic consumption, as well as a 2-month buffer stock,” the SO read.
The latest order signed by Marcos, Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, Acting SRA chief Pablo Luis Azcona, and Acting Board Member Millers’ Representative Ma. Mitzi Mangwag did not specify the allocation of the sugar import. “The SRA finds it imperative to open a second import program [in 2023] to address the demand for CY (crop year) 2022-2023,” it said. It noted that despite the earlier importation of 440,000 MT of the commodity, “the further reduction of sugar production volume for CY 2022-2023 is forecasted due to early start and early end of milling, and in anticipation of the possible shortfall of supply and to bridge the gap between the supply and the demand.”
The sugar body issued SO No. 6 on Feb. 15 to authorize the importation of 440,000 MT of sugar. This was the second import program for CY 2022-2023 and the first for 2023. Consumers got 200,000 MT, while the rest was for buffer stock. Azcona told the media in June that current supply of sugar will last until Aug. 31, before the milling season, and that the country may face a shortage of 50,000 MT. On Sept. 13, the SRA approved SO No. 2 that authorized the first sugar importation for CY 2022-2023. The 150,000-MT shipment was split between industrial users and consumers.
Marcos has so far approved the importation of 740,000 MT of sugar based on the three orders. On the other hand, he junked a proposal in August to import 300,000 MT of sugar, one that was approved by the SRA without his knowledge. The controversial order did not materialize. According to the DA’s price monitor as of July 6, the prices of sugar products in Metro Manila markets stood at ₱86 to ₱110 per kilogram (kg) for refined sugar, ₱82 to ₱90 per kg for washed sugar, and ₱78 to ₱90 per kg for brown sugar.
Source: cnnphilippines.com
ความคิดเห็น