SRA: Ample supply to keep sugar prices steady

Retail prices of sugar should not go up, as the country has ample supply in warehouses, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said Monday. "The available supply of sugar in the warehouses of the sugar mills still exceeds 600,000 metric tons, and this inventory excludes the inventory in the warehouses of traders and wholesalers," the industry regulator said in a statement. "While it is true that the milling season has ended, we still have enough supply of sugar for our requirement up to the next milling season," SRA administrator Bernardo Trebol said. "We will not allow unscrupulous businessmen to create a situation where they will project a picture of shortage in the supply to their own advantage. We will work with other government agencies and run after the retailers who are unnecessarily increasing the prices of their sugar". In March, the government initiated an import program - through the National Food Authority - for 150,000 metric tons of sugar from the world market. Part of this imported sugar has already arrived in the country, but the bulk volume is expected to this month and next, the SRA said. There will always be enough supply of the commodity. "We will not allow our country to run out of sugar," according to Trebol. He said people should report overpricing of sugar to SRA "so that the agency can do something about the situation." The retail price of refined sugar, according to the SRA, should be around P52.80 and raw sugar, P44.42. —VS, GMANews.TV