The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has issued an order reclassifying for domestic use sugar originally intended for export in a move to increase local supply.
Sugar Order (SO) number 9 series of 2022-2023 dated June 30 said any verified unshipped A and D sugar quedans issued for crop year 2020-2021 and previous crop years are eligible for reclassification or conversion on a voluntary basis.
SRA classifies sugar as A type if it is intended for shipment to comply with the United States exports quota and D type if it is intended for export to other parts of the world.
SO 9 said based on current records, there are significant volumes of A and D type sugar that remain unshipped and can be “utilized to alleviate the perceived tightness in domestic sugar balance.”
SRA added there are at least 11,432 metric tons (MT) of A sugar and 5,478 MT of D sugar that has not yet left the country for exports as of end-November 2022.
SRA said the conversion of the said volume will be charged with P15 per 50 kg bag as reinstatement fee, P33 per 50 kg bag as reclassification/conversion fee and P5 per quedan as revalidation fee.
Quedans are warehouse receipts showing the ownership of a sugar volume in a warehouse or sugar central that can be used by farmers as a trading document.
Based on Department of Agriculture’s latest monitoring of public markets in the National Capital Region as of yesterday showed prevailing retail price of sugar ranged from P85 to P110 per kg for refined sugar, P82 to P90 per kg for washed sugar and P78 to P90 for brown sugar.
Meanwhile, SRA millsite monitoring showed composite price of raw sugar as of July 2 was P3,000 per 50 kg bag.
