The president of the Negros Association of Chief Executives (Negros ACE) said he welcomes the holding of a joint Senate-House of Representatives public consultation on the sugar industry in Negros Occidental on January 23.
The consultation will hopefully set the parameters for sugar importation to protect the industry, Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante, Negros ACE president, said on Friday, Jan. 9.
It is important for policy to be set to prevent over-importation, he said.
Parameters for sugar importation should be institutionalized, Escalante added.
The Negros ACE has raised its concern to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., through the Department of Agriculture, over the current drop in sugar millgate prices at the expense of the farmers, while retail prices remain the same, he said.
Parameters for sugar importation should be institutionalized, he said.
Industry leaders claim over-importation of sugar has caused the drop in millgate prices this crop year.
The sugar consultation in Negros Occidental will be led by Rep. Mark Enverga for the House and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan for the Senate, Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said on Thursday.
“This follows the resolution I filed calling for a joint House–Senate inquiry on the sugar industry,” he said.
“This is a very important time for our farmers’ voices to be heard and for all of us to help the sugarcane industry,” Benitez said.*