The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it will start add sugar to the list of products it monitors following last week’s raid of warehouses that yielded thousands of kilograms of the sweetener.
This developed as Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc. (CCBPI) said over the weekend the industry is implementing efforts aimed at cushioning the business impact of the lack of premium refined sugar supply.
While the Department of Agriculture has jurisdiction in monitoring sugar, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said in a text message on Saturday the commodity will be included in DTI’s regular monitoring in the coming days as directed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Pascual told reporters on Friday the DTI “ will check and help other partners in government if there is hoarding” of sugar following last week’s operations in some provinces.
“We have not received the final report from those who went to the warehouses. We don’t have the final verdict; I do not want to jump into conclusion because I don’t have the facts yet,” Pascual said.
He said the final report will be evaluated and if there are violations, due process will be observed.
In a statement on Saturday, CCBPI said it has told the President the industry needs at least 450,000 metric tons (MT) of premium refined bottler grade sugar to utilize 100 percent of its manufacturing capacity for the balance of the year “and serve the orders of customers who are depending on our products for their sales and income.”
CCBPI said there is approximately a 400,000-MT gap on top of a starting gap of 200,000 metric tons of the local sugar supply for 2022, based on a projected demand of 2.3 million MT for 2022 for the entire country.