June 2, 2015
Louine Hope Conserva (Business World) | http://goo.gl/P0g2MZ
ILOILO CITY -- Sugar industry stakeholders met here last week with officials of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to discuss the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for Republic Act No. 10659, the Sugarcane Industry Development Act of 2015, signed into law last March 27.
The public consultation attended by sugar farmers and mill operators, along with representatives of other government agencies, also tackled action plans to prepare the industry for the impact of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), which takes effect this year.
“Refined sugar imported from other countries costs about P900 to P1,000 (per 50-kilo bag) compared to our local price, which is P2,300. So if cheaper products are being imported into the country, our local sugar farmers will be affected,” SRA Administrator Maria Regina Bautista-Martin said.
The discussion focused on how to strengthen the new law through the IRR to help the industry become competitive in the face of cheaper sugar produced by other countries within the ASEAN that can be shipped in at decreased tariffs under the AFTA.
“The law will help us achieve this objective. By strengthening it, we can sustain it even if there is a change in the administration,” Ms. Martin said.
The overall strategy, she said, is to increase production and at the same time decrease costs.
“Our objective should be producing sugar at double quantity but at a lower cost,” she added.
Comparing the country with Thailand, ASEAN’s top sugar producer and exporter, Ms. Martin noted that the Philippines only has 423,000 hectares of sugar plantations while Thailand has 1.2 million hectares planted to sugar.
“Thailand produces 12 million metric tons (MT) of sugar but only consumes 2.5 million MT. While (our) country produces 2.3 to 2.5 million MT of sugar but we consume 2.2 million MT. There is only a small surplus. That is why sugar in the Philippines is expensive,” said Ms. Martin.
The Sugarcane Industry Development Act requires that the government: “(a) establish productivity improvement programs; (b) provide the needed infrastructure support; (c) enhance research and development of other products derived from sugar, sugarcane, and their by-products; (d) provide human resource development and extension services; and (e) provide financial assistance to small farmers.