Local sugar supply increased to address price spikes

The Sugar Board has reclassified 5,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar for export to the US into sugar for the local market to prevent price spikes, an official said on Monday. "We just removed A sugar. It is just 100 percent B," Archimedes B. Amarra, executive director of the Philippine Sugar Millers Association, told reporters via phone. "Since we expect a shortfall, we might as well serve the local demand," he added. Amarra said about 50,000 MT of raw sugar that will be produced starting April 19 up to the end of the crop season in August will go to the local market. The sugar crop year begins in September and ends in August the following year. The Sugar Regulatory Administration classifies sugar into A for export to the US, B for domestic consumption, C for reserves and D for export to markets other than the US, and for local food manufacturers. — Neil Jerome C. Morales, BusinessWorld