Major sugar industry stakeholders and labor groups have raised grave concern over the alleged proliferation of imported Coca-Cola products—believed to originate from China being sold through online e-commerce platforms across the country.
The concern was raised Friday, Oct. 23, by the Sugar 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, together with the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines- Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (NACUSIP- TUCP) and the Democratic Association of Labor Organizations (DALO).
This marks the first time that such online sales of imported beverage products have come to the their attention, their joint statement said.
This is a serious trade and economic issue that requires immediate and coordinated action from the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), and other government agencies, the industry stakeholders said.
They want to know the legal mechanisms currently in place to monitor, intercept, and regulate the entry of these consumer-ready beverage products through online channels.
The specific government agency with primary jurisdiction over checking these digital outlets should be identified, they said.
The volume of these imported Coca-Cola products that have entered the country should also be investigated, the stakeholders said.
Equally critical is knowing if these products entered through standard commercial channels, tax-free economic zones, or technical smuggling networks that bypass agricultural tariffs, they said.
They are urgently seeking the official position of Coca-Cola Europacific Aboitiz Philippines (CCEAP), the official bottling arm, manufacturer, and exclusive distributor of Coca-Cola products in the country.
As a major institutional pillar, CCEAP’s domestic operations and local labor force are directly compromised by unauthorized parallel imports, they said.
The online importation of these industrial beverage products severely damages the demand for locally produced sugar. At a time when our sugarcane planters are already reeling from low mill-gate prices, rising cost of production inputs, and devastating crop infestations, this market dilution worsens the local sugar crisis, they added.
“The socio-economic fallout extends into our fields. Forcing farm incomes below production costs triggers severe rural distress and drives a critical labor shortage as younger generations abandon farming”, the industry stakeholders said.
By allowing unvetted products to bypass trade safeguards and displace local agriculture, our entire economic fabric is endangered—and ultimately, every Filipino loses, the group said.
The Sugar Council, NACUSIP-TUCP, and DALO commit to working closely with the DA and the SRA to get to the bottom of this alarming revelation.
The group commits to aggressively lobby for regulatory interventions to plug these digital import leaks, defend our borders, and safeguard the livelihoods of the millions of Filipinos dependent on the domestic sugar industry.*
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