P375M Japan grant for PH sugar industry OK’d

- Advertisement -

The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said that the government of Japan had already finalized its P375 million (Y800 million) grant intended to be distributed to qualified and accredited sugarcane planters organizations, foundations and block farms in the Philippines.

Hermenegildo Serafica, SRA administrator, noted that the grant will be in the form of farm machineries and farm implements.

However, he explained that a service fee for the Japan procurement agent will be deducted from the grant amount while the agency will shoulder the duties and taxes once the farm machineries and farm implements arrive in the country.

- Advertisement -

Serafica added that development of the program first started in 2018 but originated from the commitment of Japan under the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.

Notably, last April, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said the Philippines may experience a drop in raw sugar production for crop year 2020-2021 as sugarcane areas continue to shrink from conversion of lands, particularly in Luzon as producers remain cautious about the impact of the liberalization being considered by the government.

The agency said that production for crop year 2020-2021 may only hit 2 million metric tons (MT) compared to crop year 2019-2020’s 2.025 million MT.

Despite the expected production drop, the USDA sees an increase in demand for sugar in the Philippines due to global economic recovery from COVID-19 and with the expanding production of food and beverage manufacturers and reach 2.350 million MT from the previous 2.3 million MT.

However, the said scenario will cause more sugar importation for crop year 2020-2021 at 450,000 MT from last crop year’s 400,000 MT.

Citing data from the SRA, the agency expressed that there are currently about 65,000 sugarcane farmers in the country with 80 percent of them owning land under five hectares (ha) and less than one percent have farms over 100 ha.

Farms with over 100 ha have an average productivity of 7.34 MT per ha, while smaller farms under 5 ha have an average productivity of 5.03 MT/ha.

Likewise, the entire sugar industry in the Philippines is said to be contributing about P87 billion to the national economy, with more than 700,000 workers and 5 million of their dependents.

Author

- Advertisement -

Share post: