28 November 2024
BACOLOD, Philippines – The mood was tense when members of the Save the Sugar Industry Movement (SAVE-SIM) in Negros Occidental called on Wednesday, November 27, for a congressional investigation into the steady drop in sugar prices.
Their message was sharp and unyielding: the sugar industry in Negros Occidental was in crisis, and the country’s legislators needed to step in.
Their main concern is the dramatic decline in sugar prices. From P2,980.88 per 50-kilogram bag in August and September, mill gate prices slid to P2,815.99 in October, then plunged further to P2,600 in November – a P380 drop in just three months.