April 17, 2017
Erwin P. Nicavera (SunStar Bacolod) | https://goo.gl/sMOHNZ
THE call to boycott Coca-Cola products sends a strong message from among the sugar industry stakeholders, particularly the sugarcane planters in the province, the chief of Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said.
SRA Chief Anna Rosario Paner said though that the SRA is not campaigning for the boycott.
Paner, who was in Bacolod City last week, said SRA is currently attending to other problems thus, it has no time to campaign for the rejection of Coca-Cola and other beverage products that are using high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as alternative sweetener.
“I cannot yet quantify it, but I assume there is really some impact,” she said when asked whether the call to boycott Coke products in Negros Occidental has taken its toll that is why the softdrinks firm showed willingness to negotiate.
More than the sales, the perception of consumers is relative to the brand or that of one industry to another, Paner added.
The Provincial Government had announced the ban on the sponsorship and sale of Coke products in the annual Panaad sa Negros Festival this month.
It gained support from local government units of Hinigaran and Isabela which also declared a boycott of Coke products during their respective festivities.
A number of food establishments in the province have also joined the boycott.
The Sugar Alliance said almost 40 local restaurants have already stopped serving Coke products.
No withdrawal yet
Coca-Cola Femsa Philippines has a pending injunction case before the Regional Trial Court in Quezon City against Sugar Order 3 that provided the regulation of HFCS importation.
The hearing is set on May 10. The SRA chief dismissed reports that the firm has already withdrawn the case.
Paner, instead, said that she received a communication from Coke saying that the latter accepts the validity of the sugar order.
“I am expecting that it should be actualized thus, the case should be dismissed,” Paner said. Coke filed a motion to declare the Bureau of Customs in default which is a clear indication that they are not withdrawing the case, she added.
According to the SRA, the Sugar Order 3 does not provide moratorium, or prohibition on the importation of HFCS, only regulation.
The agency is looking at timing and volume, “when the withdrawal of refined sugar is very slow or the price significantly drops, that’s the time regulation comes in,” it added.
For her part, Paner said: “Our only request is that when our farmers are on peak of selling, it should not be coupled with more HFCS so that they cannot be affected much of the drop in prices of sugar.”
Doubts
Earlier, sugar industry leaders rejected the “win-win solution” presented by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol. Paner reiterated that the commitment so far of the beverage firm to Piñol is to use more domestic sugar starting next year.
From HFCS and sugar consumption ratio of 90:10 (90 percent HFCS and 10 percent domestic sugar), they are going to increase the sugar consumption by 10 percent making it an 80:20 ratio.
“Unless I have seen something concrete, everything is mere words,” Paner said, adding that “I have asked around if indeed there is an increase in purchases of local sugar, traditional market supplier of Coke said there’s none yet thus, I doubt if it can be fulfilled.”
The Senate will hold a hearing tomorrow, April 18, to clarify issues on HFCS.