The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has predicted a decrease in sugar production by 10 to 15% for the 2023-2024 crop year.
This drop in production is expected due to the possible impact of the El Niño phenomenon. The SRA estimates that the total raw sugar production for this crop year will be around 1.85 million metric tons.
To regulate the sugar market, the SRA has issued an order stating that all expected sugar production must be held by mill companies as domestic market sugar.
Sugar mill companies will issue weekly permits to individual planters or mill companies for their share of sugar and molasses production.
Any unused permits from the previous crop year will be destroyed and cannot be used.
The SRA will monitor sugar production and may adjust the allocation or distribution of different types of sugar based on periodic assessments and withdrawal trends.
The order was signed by Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, SRA Administrator and CEO Pablo Luis Azcona, and SRA Board Members Ma. Mitzi Mangwag and David Andrew Sanson.
It is worth noting that Panganiban was previously linked to a controversial sugar importation incident in February.
Source: PhilNews24 | September 12, 2023
