There is no need to import sugar for 2024, The Philippine Sugar Millers’ Association Inc. (PSMA) said Friday, as it agreed with the Sugar Regulatory Administration to limit importation next year as demand for the sweetener slowed this year and may persist.
SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona recently said that based on current demand figures, there is no need to import sugar.
PSMA executive director Jesus Barrera added: “Demand-withdrawals have been slow since the start of the season. Based on the latest figures of SRA, as of Dec. 3, 2023, raw sugar and refined sugar withdrawals are down 23 percent and 10 percent, respectively, year-on-year.”
The industry, Barrera added, is already past the peak of the milling season.
“With such weak demand, our physical inventories are building up as we are adding more stocks every week. Yes, there is no need to add more sugar from imports. We welcome that statement of SRA,” he said.
Despite the peak harvest, farmgate prices dropped to a range of P2,000 to P2,500 per bag from P3,000 per bag at the start of the crop year in August.
As prices dip, the PSMA noted that with the sluggish demand and reduced prices, sugar producers believe there is no compelling reason to bring in additional volume.
Imports may only worsen and prolong the current plight of sugar farmers, it added.
Earlier, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Laurel announced that the government will be limiting sugar importation at 200,000 metric tons (MT) due to huge supply.
The SRA confirmed carry-over stocks remain from the 2022 importation that should support local demand.
According to the SRA, the country’s stock of refined sugar is about 200 percent better than last year worth nearly 2 months of inventory, buffered by the government-sanctioned importation of 440,000 MT sugar under Sugar Order (SO) 6.