Sugar imports get state nod to stabilize prices

The government has given the go-signal for traders to proceed with a plan to import as much as 150,000 metric tons (MT) of raw sugar to stabilize prices, a ranking official said last week. “There is no need to approve the proposal. It is good as approved. They (sugar traders) may import as much as necessary," National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Acting Director-General Augusto B. Santos said last week. He said there has been no resistance to the plan by the Sugar Regulatory Administration to import 60,000-150,000 metric tons of sugar that will most likely come from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Imported sugar from the ASEAN is slapped a 35-percent duty, while a 50-percent duty is imposed on sugar imports from elsewhere. However, import that will come in between April and July will be duty-free to to encourage the purchase and address rising prices in the local market. The local sugar price hovers at P48 per kilo, but the landed price of sugar come April is expected to rise to P48.35-P50.86 per kilo. The government has released as much as 3,000 bags of refined sugar to the market to be sold as National Food Administration sugar at P45 per kilo. The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) earlier traced rising local prices to increased demand. SRA Administrator Rafael Coscolluela has cited a 14-percent or 400,000-metric ton increase in withdrawals from the mills. The government earlier said it has to maintain a balance of at least 360,000 metric tons at the end of a crop year to ensure stable prices. The government is projecting a 2.6-million MT inventory for the current crop year from a carry-over stock of 421,000 MT from the previous crop year, and 2.18-million projected output during the current crop year. Subtracting the projected demand of 2.3 million metric tons and estimated exports to the US of 75,000 metric tons, the country will be left with a balance of 215,000 metric tons. World sugar prices have been rising, while the price of local sugar is higher at P1,700 per 25-kilogram bag than the US export quota at P1,600 per bag. — GMANews.TV