Sugar milling will start on September 15, but a slow start is expected, Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona of the Sugar Regulatory Administration said on Thursday, August 8.
Some mills had requested for an opening on October 1 as the sugarcane is not ready for harvest after the El Niño dry spell but they could not get their acts together, he said.
Azcona said he asked the Philippine Sugar Millers Association for a unified statement that they want October 1 so he would have a basis for it but they could not agree because some mills want to start earlier so he stuck to September 15.
But most mills will open October 1 and big farmers will start harvesting October 15, he said.
Azcona said based on his experience after El Niño there is usually good production but the problem now is cane point prices have gone up.
The production might be maintained at last crop year’s level because the cane looks good but about one two months delayed because of El Niño, he said.
If the sugar prices go up to P3,000 per 50 kilo bag “we will have to pay for it as it will push up inflation when retail prices go up and we will get pressure from government”, he said.
If the prices stay at P2,500 to P2,800 it will have no effect on retail prices, so they are comfortable farm gate prices, Azcona said.
There is no immediate date set for sugar importation yet, but if it happens it should be in the country before milling starts, he said.
“If we do import it will be probably be the most transparent in the history of the SRA, because the wannabe importers were asked to buy local sugar first before being given equivalent import allocations,” he said.*