The Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers Inc. (PanayFed) and the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) on Sunday, Jan. 11, joined the call for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to urgently heed the proposed solutions to address the sugar crisis.
They cited the proposed solutions put forward by the Confederation of Sugar Producers Association Inc. (CONFED) and supported by key industry stakeholders, including the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) and the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines-TUCP, “to decisively address the deepening crisis in the sugar industry.”
BRINK OF COLLAPSE
“Mr. President, our sugar industry is collapsing as price, yield, and demand for domestic sugar continues to drop, leaving millers, farmers, planters, workers, and their families to bear the full weight of this social, economic, and financial tragedy,” TUCP Party-list Representative and House Deputy Speaker Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza said.
“What the country needs now is decisive leadership that listens to industry stakeholders and resists the easy but repeatedly failed temptation of over-importation,” he added.
PROPOSED SOLUTIONS
The sugar industry stakeholders, led by CONFED, are proposing a government-financed domestic sugar buying program to stabilize prices, with stocks to be sold at a modest profit, and the reclassification of all remaining imported refined sugar into ‘C’ or reserve sugar.
They are also calling for the immediate convening of the National Biofuel Board (NBB) to address distortions in the molasses market; the adoption of an evidence-based and transparent sugar importation policy; and the creation of a technical working group (TWG) with genuine and broad stakeholder representation to operationalize the government-financed buying program.
GENUINE CONSULTATION
“We urge the President to lead from the front and meet with sugar industry stakeholders before any new program or order is issued by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA),” Mendoza said.
“Only through genuine consultation can we ensure that farmers, planters, and workers are fully represented and that the country finally adopts a comprehensive sugar policy that strengthens domestic production and moves us away from destructive over-importation,” he added.
PRICES IN PANAY
Danilo A. Abelita, Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers, Inc. (PanayFed) president, said that since milling in Panay started in the third week of October, the sugar price was at ₱2,480.00, but it went down as the milling season progressed. It is now at ₱2,150.00 per 50-kilo bag, which is below the production cost of their planter members, he said.
Industry stakeholders understand that this sharp decline in sugar prices was brought about by the glaring imbalance in sugar supply and demand, Abelita said. Based on the SRA’s Sugar Supply and Demand Report for Dec. 14, 2025, raw sugar stock amounts to 413,715 metric tons, while refined sugar stock amounts to 414,344 mt, he said.
‘IMPORTATION GLUT’
“Majority 368,000 mt out of 414,344 mt of this refined sugar stock is imported sugar, consisting of about 202,000 mt carry-over from CY 2022-2023 and 166,000 mt from Sugar Order No. 8 for CY 2024-2025,” Abelita said.
“This oversupply of sugar in the domestic market is the direct cause of low prices. Unless this sugar glut is addressed, our sugar farmers cannot expect improved prices,” he said.
TEMPORARY FIXES
The SRA’s proposed Sugar Order No. 2, which calls for a sugar export-import scheme, is not the solution, Abelita added.
“This proposed measure might solve the problem temporarily, but it will create more problems in the long run. Additional importation, under whatever scheme, will not solve a problem which was caused by over-importation from the start,” he said.
PanayFed supports the recommendations forwarded by CONFED to address the sugar crisis, he stressed.*