BACOLOD City – The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) was monitoring the sugar exportation for the United States (US).
SRA administrator Pablo Luis Azcona personally inspected the loading of raw sugar bound for the US at the Bredco port in this city on Saturday, August 17.
As stipulated under Sugar Order (SO) No. 3, the Philippines allowed the export of 25,300 metric tons of raw sugar to fulfill its US sugar quota allocation and the timing.
Azcona said this will balance out the supply of raw sugar in the country when milling starts this September.
Loading of sugar is being done manually and an estimated 1,500 metric tons is loaded every day.
“It will take about 15 days to load the shipment provided we have good weather and another 30 days for the cargo to reach US soil,” Azcona said.
The SRA top official also thanked the traders who participated in the program even if they would incur an estimated loss of P900 to P1,200 per bag of raw sugar exported.
About 30 sugar traders heeded the call of the administration last year to buy domestic sugar to stabilize farm gate prices that dropped to as low as P2,400 per bag.
These traders bought domestic raw sugar at an average price of P2,700 per bag and sold it to the US at an export price of P1,800 per bag.
However, in exchange, the program would allow these traders the opportunity to import and export sugar when needed.
Azcona also thanked Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez for lifting the truck ban for trucks loaded with sugar en route to the port to hasten the loading of US-bound raw sugar.
The Philippines last exported raw sugar to the US in 2021 following a shortage./PN
