Local sugar industry stakeholders filed various legal remedies against the Sugar Regulatory Administration’s (SRA) issuance of Sugar Order No. 3 (SO3) that allows the importation of 200,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar.
The Regional Trial Court, Branch 73 in Negros Occidental granted the petition of United Sugar Producers Federation (UNIFED), through the Rural Sugar Planters Association Inc. for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the SRA for the said order.
The TRO was issued on February 11 and will be effective for 20 days, with a hearing set on February 24.
“There are reports that sugar prices today (are) at an all-time high. Probably yes, but if you look at the price vis-í -vis production cost, we are barely making even. Since last year, we have been appealing to SRA, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and other government agencies to help us with the high price of farm inputs, whether through a price freeze or subsidies, but nothing came through,” said Joseph Edgar Sarrosa, UNIFED director.
Manuel Lamata, president of UNIFED, said even if SRA’s justification for issuing the SO3 is to address complaints from consumers and market sellers of high sugar prices, the order “does not answer directly the so-called complaints of these vendors as half of the imported supply will go to bottling companies.”
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Negros Occidental filed a resolution expressing its objection to the SO3.
In the resolution, the local government of Negros Occidental said allowing industrial users alone to participate in the import program while excluding consumers, end-users and sugar producers will be detrimental to the public, farmers and other stakeholders in the sugar industry.
The resolution also noted the influx of imported and cheaper sugar will be an additional burden to the local sugar sector that suffered as much as P1.2 billion worth of production losses in 51,159 hectares of land from Typhoon Odette.
Under SO3, 100,000 MT will be for standard grade refined sugar while the rest will be for bottler’s grade refined sugar.
For industrial users importing standard refined sugar, 25 percent of the volume must arrive in the Philippines no sooner than March 1 with the remaining 75 percent to arrive no sooner than May 1.
For the bottlers’ grade refined sugar, 75 percent of the volume should arrive in the Philippines no sooner than March 1 and the remaining 25 percent no sooner than May 1.
DA’s monitoring of 13 public markets as of yesterday showed the prevailing retail prices of sugar went up from last month by P5 for refined sugar which is now at P65 per kilogram from P60 and brown sugar to P50 from P45. Washed sugar is now at P55 from P48, up P7.
