BACOLOD City – Major sugarcane farmer organizations, including the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) and the Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers (Panayfed), have aligned with the Confederation of Sugarcane Producers’ Associations (CONFED) to call for a transparent and data-driven sugar importation plan.
The government plans to import 200,000 metric tons of refined sugar by September, coinciding with the beginning of the milling season.
Enrique Rojas, president of NFSP, and Danilo Abelita, president of Panayfed, in a joint statement, further debunked insinuations that the Sugar Council, an umbrella organization representing 67 percent of the production of affiliated sugarcane farmers and composed of CONFED, NFSP and Panayfed, has disbanded. They emphasized their steadfast commitment to protecting the interests of the majority of sugarcane farmers across the country.
The importation plan was disclosed last week by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. He said this would stabilize sugar prices, which are expected to drop due to the timing of the imports.
However, Rojas cautioned that imports should only occur when absolutely necessary and scheduled to prevent impacts on local millgate prices.
CONFED president Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama Jr. lamented the lack of stakeholder consultation and questioned the absence of foundational data in the government’s importation report. Current statistics from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), dated June 9, 2024, show sufficient local sugar stocks, potentially negating the need for immediate imports.
Both Rojas and Abelita have urged the SRA to engage with stakeholders to discuss the underlying data and rationale for the proposed importation plan, seeking transparency in decisions that significantly impact local farmers and the sugar industry./PN
