The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) clarified on Sunday, Dec. 21, that the ban on sugar importation will remain in place until December 2026 and not September, when the current crop year ends.
The DA is extending protection for local producers amid improving supply conditions, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said.
Government officials and sugar leaders in a letter to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday, called for the declaration of a no sugar import policy for the next 18 months, unless domestic stock falls below a clear trigger point, to arrest the drop in millgate prices.
Azcona expects millgate sugar prices to improve this week amid measures taken by government to curb importation and to export raw sugar.
“There was a call for a statement that there will be no sugar importation for 18 months. There was a discussion at the DA with their representatives. DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel and the representative from the millers agreed that the statement should be December 2026,” Azcona said.
The secretary made “a statement that based on the current production and consumption numbers there is a moratorium on imports until December 2026,” he said.
Azcona also said since the country has an excess supply of raw sugar with the national production having increased, he and the secretary decided to export to the United States to relieve the market and hopefully raise domestic millgate prices.
He said the only way to allocate the export fairly, transparently and with no possibility of corruption is through a buying program where participating exporters would buy four bags of local raw sugar in order to be able to export one.
Of the 400,000 tons of raw sugar to be exported to the US, 300,000 will come from the farmers share and 100,000 from the millers share, he said.
CURRENT OUTLOOK
“Based on the current outlook for sugar production and demand, a longer import moratorium than initially suggested is necessary,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said in the DA statement on Sunday.
Citing stronger domestic raw sugar output, Tiu Laurel stressed that the policy is aimed at prioritizing locally produced sugar and stabilizing the market.
MONITORING REFINERIES
Tiu Laurel, chair of the Sugar Board — the policymaking body of the SRA, said the agency will step up monitoring of refinery operations to maintain an accurate picture of standard and premium-grade refined sugar inventories.
Close tracking is critical to prevent supply distortions and speculative pricing, he said.
Beyond the import ban, the DA and SRA are also finalizing a long-delayed regulatory framework governing molasses imports, a move expected to further shield domestic producers, the statement said.
RULES ON MOLASSES
Under the proposed rules, molasses users will first be required to purchase and withdraw locally produced molasses. Only after those obligations are met—and based on a predetermined ratio—will imports be permitted, subject to SRA approval, it said.
The planned system echoes the earlier Sugar Order No. 2 (SO2) mechanism, which tied export and import privileges to actual purchases of local sugar, it added.
Tiu Laurel said the approach reduced discretion in allocations, curtailed corruption risks, and boosted demand for domestically produced sugar—ultimately helping raise farmgate prices.
With the extended import ban and tighter rules on molasses, the DA is signaling a more assertive stance on sugar policy—one that leans on data, curbs market abuse, and puts local producers first, the statement said.
LETTER TO MARCOS
Government officials and sugar leaders in a letter to the President on Friday said the sugar industry is under acute stress.
“Millgate prices for sugar and molasses have sharply declined amid excessive inventories, weak demand, rising production costs, and crop losses from adverse weather and RSSI infestation,” they said.
“Storage capacity is strained, farmers’ incomes are deteriorating, and financial pressure on both planters and millers now threatens the sustainability of the industry,” they said.
To stabilize the market and restore confidence, urgent and decisive policy action is required, they added.
Aside from an 18-month no sugar import policy , they said if imports become necessary, limit these strictly to raw sugar for refining by local refiners, based on stakeholder consultation.
They also called for the exercise SRA’s classification authority under E.O. No. 18 to actively manage inventory levels and stabilize prices, and the institutionalization of the Stakeholders’ Consultative Assembly and Sugar Industry Development Council as formal platforms for policy formulation and development.
They are also calling for the activation of the proposed Committee on Sugar Substitutes, in coordination with the Department of Health and other regulators, to address market distortion and public health concerns
Strengthen oversight of molasses importation through the National Biofuels Board to protect domestic supply and pricing, they added.
“These measures are essential to rebalance supply and demand, arrest further price erosion, and provide predictability for industry stakeholders,” they said.
The letter was signed by Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Negros Association of Chief Executives president Salvador Escalante Jr., League of Municipalities of the Philippines – Iloilo Chapter president Suzette Mamon, Iloilo City mayor Raisa Treñas, Bingawan, Iloilo, Mayor Matt Palabrica;
Confederation of Sugar Producers Association president Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama Jr., Philippine Sugar Millers Association president Terence Uygungco, National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP) president Roland dela Cruz, National Federation of Sugarcane Planters president Enrique Rojas;
Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers president Danilo Abelita, Jalasig Sugarcane Planters Association president Hernando Divinagracia Jr., Congress of Independent Organizations secretary general Joseph Brian Perez, Philippine Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial Workers Union senior executive vice president Benjie de la Cruz;
Philippine Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial Workers Union chairman Elisama Gregorio, Sugar Industry Foundation president Edith Villanueva and Philippine Sugar Research Institute chairman Raymund Montinola.
UNIFED REACTS
United Sugar Producers Federation (UNIFED) president Manuel Lamata said the letter signed by the governor and Escalante was done without consultation with the majority in the sugar industry.
“What they recommended is to bring in raw sugar which will kill the industry for sure. Because they can only bring imported raw during milling season cause the miller refiners have the bagasse to use to fire up the refinery,” he said.
“Prices of B sugar will crash for sure since no one will buy our raw cause imported raw has come in. It will be a disaster for the industry” he said.
He asked why they signed the letter without consulting the other stakeholders of the industry.
SUGAR BUYING PROGRAM
NACUSIP in a letter to Azcona said it is against SRA’s Domestic Sugar Buying Program with Export and subsequent Import Replenishment.
“By tying the program to import replenishment, you are guaranteeing future importation, regardless of the real needs of the country. This is not a solution – this is a pretext for importation that will only worsen our situation,” NACUSIP said.
Azcona said he does not understand why NACUSIP will not support the export of raw sugar when the purpose is to raise the millgate prices of farmers.
Ther Sugar Buying Program policy has not been released yet and he can explain the move to NACUSIP, Azcona said.
“I think when the (millgate) prices go up opinions will change,” Azcona said.
Meanwhile, a manifestation of support for the Sugar Buying Program was signed by Arnel Toreja and Jose Angelo Flores of the Luzon Federation of Sugarcane Farmers Associations, Manuel Zubiri of the Mindanao Federation of Sugarcane Planters, Julian Garcia and Anthony Ramos of the United Sugar Producers Federation, and David Thaddeus Alba and Roberto Cuenca of Asociación de Agricultores de La Carlota y Pontevedra Inc.
“We expresses our full support to the initiative of the government and the different sectors of the sugar industry for the implementation of the program… the same being designed to alleviate the low farmgate price of locally produced sugar”, they said.*
[sibwp_form id=1]