Sugar Regulatory Board Member David Andrew Sanson on Wednesday, March 25, said he is appealing to all sugar mills nationwide to increase the trucking allowance for sugar farmers in light of the rising fuel costs due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Sanson, planters representative on the Sugar Board, in his letter to the mills sought an “increase in trucking allowance and other measures to augment government relief efforts in addressing the sudden and steep surge of fuel prices due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East”.
In Negros Island, which produces more than 60 percent of the country’s sugar, diesel prices have breached P120/liter in most areas that has “significantly increased the cost of transporting canes from the farms to the mills,” Sanson said.
This has “placed a substantial financial burden to our sugar farmers and threatens the continuity of cane supply,” he added.
Sanson said he hopes that the mills, for “humanitarian reasons,” can increase trucking allowances for farmers to help offset fuel costs until such time that the fuel prices normalize.
“We are all trying to survive this crisis and I hope the sugar industry stakeholders will come together to help each other and to ensure the future of our beloved sugar industry,” he added.*
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