July 29, 2015
Sugaronline | http://goo.gl/IhGDCR
Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) chief Ma. Regina Martin said Monday the United States has maintained its sugar import quota for the Philippines at 142,160 metric tons raw value (MTRV) or 136,201 metric tons commercial weight, according to Interaksyon.
According to a press statement from SRA here, United States Trade Representative Michael Froman announced the quota allocations under the tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) on imported sugar for fiscal year (FY) 2016 – or from October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2016.
Tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) allow countries to export specified quantities of a product to the United States at a relatively low tariff, but subject all imports of the product above the pre-determined threshold to a higher tariff.
Of the 40 countries included in the US quota for sugar, the Philippines got the third largest allocation after the Dominican Republic with 185,335 MTRV and Brazil with 152,691 MTRV.
The shortfall in deliveries under the quota in FY 2015 had no effect on the size of the allocation for FY 2016, Martin said.
The Philippines’ raw sugar output as of week ending July 12 reached a total volume of 2,316,304 metric tons, down by 5.29 percent from the same period of the previous crop year.
The decrease in production was due to the effect of El Niño, which resulted in prolonged drought affecting sugar-producing provinces of Batangas, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Bukidnon, Cotabato, and Davao.
For refined sugar, total production is now at 1,063,152 metric tons, up by 2.9 percent compared to last crop year’s output for the same period.
Total domestic raw sugar withdrawal for the current crop year reached 2,124,115 metric tons, up by 3.6 percent from the same period last year. Refined sugar withdrawal is at 894,689, down by 8.8 percent on a year-on-year comparison.