The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has allotted P66 million to mitigate the effects of the El Niño phenomenon on sugarcane farms and the conduct of cloudseeding to induce rain is being studied, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said on Tuesday , March 12.
The drought is causing a drop in the country’s sugar production and an early end to the milling season, Azcona reiterated at a press conference at the SRA office in Bacolod City.
Azcona said the country’s current total sugar production is 1.55 million metric tons (MT).
“That is ahead of what we produced at the same period last year. However, as early as now, there are mills already signifying closure,” he said, that is why he asked the SRA to validate the country’s production data.
Azcona said milling season usually last until May so with the early closure of some mills, he does not know if the SRA target of 1.85 million MT for this crop year will be reached.
“Will we hit our initial estimate of 1.85 million MT? I don’t know. For now, it’s hard to conclude unless we verify the data,” Azcona said.
Azcona said he has yet to interview a farmer who claims that his production improved this crop year.
“Most of the big progressive farmers and cooperatives have indicated drops in production,” he said.
As a mitigating measure, SRA has released irrigation equipment in Negros to cover almost 100 hectares of sugarcane farms, he said.
They will also release more small-sized irrigation equipment for small farmers in Negros on March 19, he added.
The SRA has also distributed shallow tube wells and automated weather stations with moisture sensors, Azcona said.
Azcona said the Department of Agriculture is conducting a study to determine areas for possible cloudseeding to induce rain over parched sugarcane lands in Negros Occidental. They are saying there are no significant clouds, he said.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said his people are on it. “They are validating the data, they are willing to do it, they have a budget for that,” Azcona said.
PRICES GOING UP
Meanwhile, mill gate sugar prices have gone up lately, he said.
Azcona said millgate prices have increased from P2,400 per 50 kilo bag to P2,750, but have not affected retail prices.
The SRA Sugar Order No. 2 on Friday, March 8, for the voluntary purchase of Crop Year 2023-2024 locally produced raw sugar to be reclassified as “C” or reserve sugar in order to avail of an allocation for a future import program.
This is expected to further cause an increase in millgate prices, Azcona added.
He assured that there is no need to import sugar as of now despite a drop in production.*