October 13, 2025
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2025/10/13/phl-may-ditch-sugar-imports-via-mav-in-2026/
The government would likely exclude imported sugar from the minimum access volume (MAV) scheme next year as the country has ample supply, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said.
SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona told the BusinessMirror that the government may not open the MAV for sugar in 2026.
Sugar has been excluded by the Department of Agriculture (DA) in applications for MAV for two years.
“The way we’re managing our sugar stocks, I don’t think there’s any need for MAV,” Azcona told this newspaper on the sidelines of a recent Senate hearing on the DA’s proposed budget.
“We have no shortage, the supply is stable, and the prices are also stable. So for now, I don’t think there’s a need for it.”
The Philippines last allowed sugar MAV in 2023 after the average retail price of refined sugar skyrocketed to P100 per kilo in the latter part of 2022 from P53 per kilo in the previous year as stockpiles were depleted.
Sugar imports within the MAV are levied with a 50-percent tariff while shipments outside MAV are slapped with a 65-percent tariff.
Meanwhile, Azcona allayed concerns regarding sugar shipments, saying that importation is off the table for now.
“Since milling has started, we will not talk or discuss about importation or plan about importation until May to June [next year] where we have definite production numbers unless there is really a warranted need or a spike.”
“That is our promise to the farmers: as long as they are milling and we have no definite production numbers, and there is no warranted need, we will not discuss importation at the moment.”
Figures from the SRA showed that the country’s raw sugar output settled at 2.085 million metric tons (MMT) in the previous crop year 2024-2025.
Some 226,693 metric tons (MT) of the 424,000 MT approved import volume under Sugar Order 8 in the same crop year have entered the country as of September 28, based on the latest SRA data.
For crop year 2025-2026, the SRA said raw sugar production could fall to 1.92 million metric tons (MMT) as torrential downpours and pest infestation battered plantations in Negros, which accounts for 65 percent of total output of the sweetener.
However, the agency noted that output in the current crop year may even be lower than the initial forecast owing to the potential impact of red-striped soft-scale insects (RSSI) infestation on yield.
“It’s an estimate based on the heavy rainfall experienced in the north of Negros, and [there] might be a small drop considering the presence of RSSI,” Azcona said.
The average price of refined sugar in Metro Manila remains stable at P84.77 per kilo, while raw sugar settled at P76.38 per kilo, latest SRA reports showed.