Import liberalization may kill the Philippine sugar industry, Rep. Emilio Yulo III (Neg. Occ., 5th District) warned Friday, June 30.
Yulo, a former planter representative on the Sugar Board, was reacting to the proposal of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno to liberalize sugar imports to soften the blow on the food industry amid proposals to tax sugary food and beverages.
The immediate effect of sugar import liberalization will be on the small sugar producers, Yulo said.
He pointed out that 90 percent of the country’s sugar producers are small and marginalized.
It will also hurt Negros Occidental since the sugar industry is its lifeblood, Yulo said.
Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito said on Thursday that government should conduct consultations and act with caution on the proposed import liberalization of sugar.
Sugar industry stakeholders on Tuesday called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who concurrently serves as Secretary of Agriculture, to deny Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s proposal to liberalize sugar importation, saying it will destabilize the livelihood of thousands of marginal sugarcane farmers.*