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Sugar prices breach P60/kilo mark; some stores stopped selling


Prices of sugar have breached the P60-per-kilo price barrier, even as government regulators blamed the situation on delays in harvesting and milling caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon. Sugar Regulatory Administration head Gina Martin cited reports saying sugar prices even went up to P62 per kilo, way above the suggested retail price of P56. "Our farmers have just started harvesting and sugar mills started milling only now. So far, only 30 percent of sugar mills have started operations. Of the around 30 sugar mills, only 8 to 10 are operating now," Martin said in an interview on dzBB radio. Brown sugar sells at P54 per kilo, she added. On the other hand, a supermarket association said the high sugar prices have prompted many of its members not to sell refined sugar. "Most of us have decided not to sell refined sugar for now. We are selling brown sugar instead," Philippine Association of Supermarkets, Inc. secretary general Federico Ples said in a separate interview on dzBB. Meanwhile, Martin said neighboring countries have also experienced similar delays in harvesting and milling, saying this was due to the droughts caused by El Niño. According to her, the delay could be one to two months. "We and our neighboring countries suffered from the El Niño phenomenon," she said, adding that sugar mills in Luzon and Mindanao are not expected to start operating until at least first week of December. "Magsa-start ang milling sa first week of December sa Luzon yung Batangas, Tarlac at sa Mindanao, pinakamalaking sugar mill doon, December pa mag-uumpisa," she said. (Mills in Luzon such as Batangas and Tarlac will start milling in the first week of December. The biggest mills in Mindanao will also start operations in December.) No ceiling price Martin said that while the Trade Department had pegged the reference price for sugar at P56 per kilo, she also noted there is no calamity or emergency prompting the hike in prices. She said traders were encouraged to keep their profit margins reasonable. "Wala namang calamity o emergency situation kaya walang ceiling price na ibinibigay ang DTI. Ang sinasabing P60, actually P56 ang reference price kung pwede. Pero maraming island tayo so pagpunta sa Manila from Negros maraming binabiyahe, so naging patong-patong," she said. There is no calamity or emergency so there is no ceiling price. The P56/kilo suggested reference price is proposed as guide in price adjustment but there are several factors, such as transport costs, to consider.) "Ang DTI tinitingnan ang dapat patong na kita na di overprice. P56 lang dapat, P60 okay na rin yan kasi malayo ang pinanggagalingan ng asukal (The DTI says the 'overprice' must at least be reasonable. While the suggested price is P56, I think P60 is okay considering the transport costs involved)," she added. — LBG, GMANews.TV

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