February 25, 2025
https://business.inquirer.net/508217/sra-to-export-66000-mt-of-raw-sugar-in-us-market-next-month
KABANKALAN CITY, Philippines — The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is hoping to deliver raw sugar to the United States as early as March to stabilize prices and spur the demand for the sweetener.
Should this plan push through, the SRA plans to deliver two boats carrying 33,000 metric tons each or a total of 66,000 MT of raw sugar to the US market.
“We might do exports to maintain a quota, so the quota does not go away,” SRA administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said.
”We’re trying to work it out because the exporters and the US are actually requesting for us to export early… early is before April,” Azcona said.
Azcona said by shipping out locally produced raw sugar around March or April, this would allow the Philippines to meet America’s shipment deadline and ensure the quality of farmers’ produce.
“Because last year, we exported in August. We almost did not make it. We (raw sugar exports) arrived in the US last Sept. 27 on a Sept. 30 deadline,” he said.
Although the country’s raw sugar exports arrived three days before the deadline, the US still accepted the shipments. However, America levied a 10 percent penalty to the Philippines due to the discolored raw sugar.
“And what happened was, since we left in August, our raw sugars deteriorated. The raw sugar has a higher moisture content. You cannot keep it for a long time without discoloration,” he told reporters.
Azcona said that raw sugar will be taken from raw sugar under the voluntary purchase program that the SRA initiated recently.
Under Sugar Order No. 2, eligible participants can purchase 500,000 MT of local sugar at a premium price in exchange for a guaranteed slot in future importation programs of the government.
The SRA said this initiative aims “to maintain an optimum supply of sugar available for domestic consumption while ensuring reasonable and stable prices,” the order read.
The second voluntary purchase program is open to farmer’s groups, farmer’s cooperative, farmer’s association, sugar millers/refiners, manufacturers, beverage makers and sugar traders, as long as they are licensed domestic or international sugar traders in good standing without any pending case.
All sugar purchased covered by this order will be classified as “C” or reserved raw sugar.
So far, qualified participants have purchased 120,000 MT of local sugar, according to the SRA.
Last September, the country delivered 25,300 MT of raw sugar to California which was loaded into cargo vessel Tate J.
This is the first time that the Philippines has fulfilled its export quota from Washington after failing to do so in the previous years.
The country opted not to utilize its sugar allocation and instead allocated the entire production to the domestic market since the local output is insufficient to meet the demand for sugar.
The last few shipments made by the country was in crop year 2020-2021 when it delivered 112,008 metric tons commercial weight (MTCW) of raw sugar to the US market.
Previously, the Office of the US Trade Representative allotted 145,235 MT raw value (MTRV) of raw cane sugar to the Philippines for fiscal year 2025 covering Oct. 1, 2024 through Sept. 30, 2025.
The Philippines has the third-largest raw sugar export allocation for this fiscal year, following Dominican Republic and Brazil, as the US has earmarked 1.12 million MTRV of sugar export quota for several countries.
Some countries including the Philippines are allowed to export specified quantities of product to the US at a “relatively low tariff” under this tariff-rate quota system.