Sugar output remains flat

May 24, 2021
Catherine Talavera (The Philippine Star)  | https://bit.ly/2QJQe9B

MANILA, Philippines — Local sugar production remained flat in the second week of May at 1.98 million metric tons (MT), according to the latest data from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).

Raw sugar production rose 0.93 percent from 1.96 million MT in the same period in the previous crop year.

The sugar crop year starts every September and ends in August.

Output in terms of 50-kilogram bags for the current crop year reached 39.68 million, slightly higher than the 39.31 million in the same period a year ago.

This brought the current raw sugar supply to 2.23 million MT, higher than the 1.21 million MT in the same period in the previous crop year.

SRA data also showed that demand for raw sugar increased by 13.34 percent to 1.5 million MT. The total sugarcanes milled also rose 8.94 percent to 23.3 million MT.

Refined sugar production declined by 6.63 percent to 650,474 MT while the mill gate price of sugar increased by 7.53 percent to P1,666 per 50-kilo bag.

The SRA recently adjusted its sugar production target for the current crop year to 2.1 million MT from its earlier target of 2.19 million MT.

It also terminated the seven percent export allocation to the US for the current crop year, which means 100 percent of the country’s sugar output for the year will go to the domestic market.

The SRA issued the amendment order due to the more severe than initially expected impact of La Nina, which brought heavy rains in all sugar producing regions, even flooding several sugar cane fields in Negros Occidental particularly in Silay, EB Magalona, Victorias, Manapla and Cadiz.