The Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations (CONFED) and Associated Planters of Silay-Saravia Inc. (APSSI ) on Thursday, August 26, called for the allocation of 100 percent of the country’s sugar production for the domestic or “B” market for crop year 2021-2022.
The sugar industry needs to have an “All-B” domestic sugar allocation given that the production estimate of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is projected at 2.099 million metric tons, CONFED president Raymond V. Montinola said.
An anticipated second-year La Niña is shown as the reason for the low sugar production estimate, Montinola said.
The CONFED position is based on the SRA production estimates considering a double La Niña where the recent rainfall forecast of PAGASA from August 2021 to January 2022 indicates a similar condition of rainfall as in crop year 2020-2021, he added.
Above normal rainfall is forecasted over the country for the months of November 2021 to January 2022, which is the maturity stage for most of our crops, Montinola said.
The SRA’s usual practice of allocating “A” sugar for the US market is not only detrimental to the sugar producer because of its low price compared to “B” sugar, but also to government’s efforts in attaining food security, an APSSI statement said.
“This policy of allocating “A” sugar has outlived its usefulness and it is time for change,” it said.
“We firmly believe that our sugar production should be for the Filipino consumer and urge the SRA to allocate 100 percent of our production for the domestic market,” APSSI said.*