BACOLOD City – The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) reported that sugar production for the current crop year has exceeded expectations, breaching the two-million metric ton mark — significantly higher than earlier projections.
SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said the agency had initially projected an output of 1.782 million metric tons, later revising it to a pre-final estimate of 1.840 million metric tons. However, recent reports from the field indicate that total production may exceed two million metric tons.
“This crop year [2024-2025] turned out to be a positive one — a result of intensive research and the hard work that you’ve all done,” Azcona said during the SRA’s 39th Founding Anniversary celebration held recently at the agency’s office in Quezon City.
He noted that the remarkable yield came as a surprise given the challenges the sugar industry faced at the start of the crop year.
“We were very prudent in our projections because we had just come out of a long drought due to El Niño. Yet, our cane fields recovered nicely, and sugar prices remained stable for most of the season,” he added.
Azcona also credited President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for approving a crucial change: moving the official start of the harvest season from August to October 1, which contributed to better crop maturity and higher yields.
He lauded the Department of Agriculture (DA) for its continued support, pushing the SRA to become the leading research agency for sugarcane.
“Our improved production is also due to a very responsive SRA workforce,” Azcona said. “You’ve exceeded my expectations. We now operate like a well-oiled system, where everyone is doing their part for the good of the whole.”
A major factor in this year’s success, according to Azcona, was the mass production and distribution of high-yielding sugarcane varieties.
“Personally, I wasn’t a strong believer in SRA-developed varieties in the past. But without a doubt, we’ve now produced high-quality cane varieties that significantly boosted our output,” he said, urging employees not to be complacent despite the positive growth.
Despite the achievements, the sugar industry now faces a looming threat: the spread of red-striped soft scale insects (RSSI), which Azcona described as an alarming infestation affecting the Negros island.
He said the SRA is considering seeking “emergency powers” to combat the pest.
To address the situation, the DA has allocated P10 million to the SRA for measures to prevent the further spread of RSSI in sugarcane plantations./PN
