2 April 2025
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) should investigate the spike in the wholesale prices of sugar, according to an industry group.
The National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) expressed concern over the sharp rise in wholesale prices of raw and refined sugar in Metro Manila.
“We don’t understand why wholesale prices have escalated to as high as P3,500 per bag for raw sugar and P3,950 for refined in Metro Manila,” NFSP President Enrique Rojas told the BusinessMirror.
“This runs contrary to the present movement of millsite prices in Negros, where a substantial majority of sugar comes from.”
Figures from the SRA indicated that the average wholesale quotation of raw sugar in Metro Manila stood at P3,240.67 per bag as of March 21, from the P2,971.43 per bag recorded a year ago. The highest price registered was P3,500 per bag.
In terms of the wholesale prices of refined sugar, SRA data showed a 3.43 percent increase to P3,706.33 per bag as of March 21 from P3,583.57 per bag a year ago. The highest quotation recorded was P3,950 per bag.
Rojas said it is “perplexing” that sugar prices in Metro Manila are rising, while millsite prices are cooling down.
Millgate price of raw sugar stood at P2,781.78 per 50-kilo bag as of March 16, slightly higher than the P2,774.74 recorded in the previous year, based on SRA data. The average millgate price stood at P2,900 per bag in February.
“Sugar farmers are often blamed for high sugar prices, but a comparison of millsite and Metro Manila prices clearly shows that farmers are not the beneficiaries of this recent price spike in Manila,” Rojas said.
“It is high time for the government to step in and probe who is profiting from this suspicious sugar price hikes.”
Meanwhile, SRA data showed that the average retail price of raw sugar in Metro Manila markets as of March 21 reached P77.08 per kilo, which indicated an uptick from the previous year’s P76.08 per kilo.
The average retail quotations of refined sugar settled at P83.85 per kilo in the reference period, slightly lower than the P85 per kilo a year ago.
Earlier, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said he remains hopeful that sugar output would hit the agency’s forecast of 1.78 million metric tons (MMT) for the current crop year.
“The only thing that keeps us hoping [that we’ll reach the projected output] is that the northern part of Negros is delayed in harvesting because of the weather,” Azcona said in a previous interview. “So, if that’s true, then we have a chance to hit 1.78 MMT.”
SRA data indicated that raw sugar production as of March 16 reached 1.34 MMT, about 20 percent lower than the 1.69 MMT recorded a year ago.
Azcona also said the agency will defer from issuing an import order until May or June when the sugarcane industry is on the final stretch of the milling season.
“Until we get the accurate production data, we cannot come up with an import sugar order yet.”