VICMICO Planters Multi-Purpose Cooperative’s less than one percent participation in the sugar importation program does not equate to endorsement of over-importation, its chairman Jose Maria Montinola said on Monday, Oct. 13.
Montinola, in a press release, was reacting to the statement of United Sugar Producers Federation (UNIFED) president Manuel Lamata, which he said dragged their cooperative’s name in the over-importation issue.
Their cooperative’s participated in the Sugar Regulatory Administration’s voluntary purchase program under Sugar Order No. 2 (2024-2025) dated February 6, 2025.
“The program, which entailed importation rights, was initiated by SRA. As an eligible participant, our coop joined the program, as it was an opportunity for our farmers to earn more from their sugar,” Montinola said.
“Our participation was only 313.21 metric tons, or 0.06 percent of 500,000 mt allocation under the program, and translated to 156.61 mt, or 0.03 percent of the 422,709.96 mt total import allocation,” he clarified.
Last Friday, CONFED president Aurelio Gerardo Valderrrama issued an open letter asking SRA to explain the drop in prices and disclose its plans how to address the farmers’ concerns.
Lamata defended SRA by attacking Valderrama, claiming Valderrama “participated in the importation program through his association, the Vicmico Planters MPC”, the press release said.
“That statement is erroneous and misleading,” Montinola said.
“While Mr. Valderrama is the president of CONFED and The Sugar Association, he is not even an officer of the VICMICO Planters MPC. Our coop’s very small (less than 1 percent) participation in SRA’s program was for the best interests of our farmers, with the understanding that any importation will be numbers-based and calibrated”, he said.
“Year after year, we watched as traders made significant profits off the hard work of our farmers, who remained stuck in cycles of poverty,” Montinola said.
“When the opportunity came to participate in the importation program, we saw it as a way to generate income for our members and reinvest those gains into services like farm input support, healthcare, and livelihood programs”, he added.
However, the program was marred by controversy when SRA approved what many industry stakeholders, including Vicmico Planters MPC, believed was excessive sugar importation, Montinola said.
Vicmico Planters MPC had previously warned against over-importing, stating it would hurt local producers by suppressing farmgate prices and displacing locally produced sugar, he added.
“Vicmico Planters is now facing malicious accusations from Lamata, known to be defending entrenched interests within the sugar trade. The accuser has attempted to paint the cooperative as complicit in the importation issue – ignoring Vicmico Planters’ documented opposition and instead turning a policy misstep into an opportunity to discredit a growing movement of farmer-led economic participation. He added.
This is not just an attack on Vicmico Planters, but is an attack on any grassroots organization daring to challenge a broken system that has favored big traders and sidelined the small farmer for decades, Montinola said.
Many in the industry see the backlash as politically motivated, and intended to distract the public from the real issue: lack of safeguards, transparency, and accountability in sugar importation policies, he added.
Despite the accusations, Vicmico Planters remains committed to its mission and has called on Congress to conduct an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the over importation by SRA, Montinola said.*