The Sugar Council said it welcomes the assurance by Coca-Cola Europacific Aboitiz Philippines (CCEAP) to use Negros produced sugar but is calling for an expansion of its commitment.
“We welcome Coca-Cola’s commitment to use 100 percent locally produced premium refined sugar
in Negros, but we appeal to CCEAP to expand that commitment to Filipino sugar sourced
throughout the country,” the group said in a statement Wednesday, Oct. 7
The Council, composed of the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations (CONFED),
the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP), and the Panay Federation of Sugarcane
Farmers (PANAYFED), was reacting to a CCEAP press statement on October 5.
“In fact, this explicitly reinforces the core argument we raised in our September 23, 2026 joint
appeal that the use of locally sourced raw materials in manufacturing directly supports Filipino
sugar farmers, millers, refiners, industrial workers, transporters, and agricultural communities,”
they added.
While CCEAP celebrates its nearly eight-decade history in Bacolod, Filipino sugarcane farmers
and laborers require the complete national picture to understand the true health and security
of their livelihoods, the Sugar Council said.
CCEAP’s recent statement focuses heavily on its Bacolod operations but fails to disclose actual
sugar volumes, it pointed out.
More critically, the Sugar Council said it leaves unanswered the urgent question previously raised – How does the 16.98 million liters of finished Coke products imported from Indonesia affect
domestic production and local refined-sugar demand?
As the country’s largest industrial buyer of locally produced sugar, CCEAP’s choices impact upon
the economic survival of millions of Filipinos, it said.
“During Crop Year 2025–2026, our sugarcane farmers already suffered billions of pesos in foregone revenue due to the over-importation of
refined sugar—leaving them without vital capital to combat rising fuel costs, skyrocketing
fertilizer prices, and devastating red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestations”, the Sugar Council said.
Importing finished products completely shuts out domestic sugar and domestic labor from the production line, it added.
“To move forward in a spirit of genuine partnership and to give Filipino stakeholders a complete
picture of the market, we call on CCEAP to prioritize Filipino sugar not only in Negros but
throughout the country”, the Sugar Council
said.*