President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday approved the importation of up to 150,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar to stabilize the price and boost the country’s stock.
Meanwhile, the government is investigating the possibility of onion hoarding as the likely cause of its current high prices, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The President, in his meeting with officials of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) in Malacanang yesterday, also approved the new milling period for 2023-2024 that will start in September instead of August to increase productivity by “approximately 10 percent.”
“We agreed to (the) additional importation of sugar to stabilize prices. Maximum amount will be 150,000 MT but probably less. The exact amount will be determined once we have determined the exact amount of supply, which will come at the end of this month,” Marcos was quoted in a news release by the Presidential Communications Office.
The President also said the government is opening the importation to all traders.
SRA, in its forecast inventory, said the country will have a negative ending stock of 552,835 MT by the end of August, or the end of the milling season, and “importation of another 100,000 MT to 150,000 MT of sugar is necessary to avert a shortfall.”
The SRA said as of May 7, the country had sufficient supply of raw sugar with a stock of 160,000 MT.
“However, the country will still need to import an additional 100,000 to 150,000 MT of sugar by this year because the expected local production of 2.4 MMT (million metric tons) and the 440,000 MT allowed to be imported under SO (Sugar Order) No. 6, s. 2022-2023, as well as the 64,050 MT under the minimum access volume mechanism, will not be able to cover the 3.1 MMT demand,” the SRA said in its report.
Marcos also ordered SRA to expedite block farming initiatives to also increase production.
Block farming is a system by which small farm lots are consolidated into at least a 30 hectare-block farm. There are currently 21 block farms in the country averaging at least 40 hectares each.
“Consolidation is an important part of agro-industrial production. We’re looking at increasing the budget for block farming to accelerate the process of organizing the block farms,” the President said.
Pablo Luis Azcona, SRA acting administrator and chief executive officer, said farmers were happy with SO No. 6, as they benefit from the stable farm gate price of raw sugar, which averages P62 per kilogram (kg) for the current year. The average farm gate price is P38 per kg from 2021 to 2022.
Azcona said moving the start of the new crop year from August to September will “minimize the milling of young canes and provide better sugar recovery, longer milling period, higher production volume, better factory preparation and fair opportunities to both the millers and farmers.”
SRP on onion
Meanwhile, the DA said it will meet today to discuss the possibility of imposing a suggested retail price (SRP) on onion and the importation of the crop.
Based on DA’s monitoring of public markets in the National Capital Region, prevailing retail price as of yesterday ranges from P150 to P200 per kg for both local red onion and local white onion.
DA said according to stakeholders, farmgate price of onions currently range from P100 to P120 per kg but its retail price is being passed at around P170 to P200 per kg.
“We will check what part of the value chain causes the uptick in prices… We may also talk about the calibrated importation which we need to study carefully and be implemented at the right time,” said Kristine Evangelista, DA assistant secretary, in an interview with reporters yesterday.
Evangelista said the DA is coordinating with its attached agencies to check the inflow and outflow of onions in cold storage facilities as the peak of onion harvest season has ended.
Jayson Cainglet, executive director of Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) said timing of the importation will avoid repeat of “the artificial shortage of red onions and apparent hoarding that resulted in the spike of onion prices late last year up to early this year.”
“By June, all onions in the market would be coming from traders and cold storage owners and importers. At peak harvest this first quarter, farmers sold their onions to traders between P50 and P100 per kg for farmgate; landed cost of imported onions is only between P25 and P40 per kg. At no point must retail prices exceed P200 per kg. Stocks of white onions, from our reports from the field, will last until August to September,” Cainglet said.
El Niño loans
In another development, the DA said the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) has a total of P750 million available funds this year for the Survival and Recovery loan program.
Cristina Lopez, ACPC deputy executive director, said individual farmers and fisherfolk who will be affected by the El Niño phenomenon can avail loans of up to P25,000 with zero interest and payable in three years.
Lopez said the loan would support alternative livelihood that must be agriculture-based.
Lopez said loan applications should be submitted to lending conduits such as banks and cooperatives.
Lopez said only those registered under the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture are qualified. Jed Macapagal
