By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter
THE UNITED STATES retained the Philippines’ export quota for raw cane sugar for the coming crop year, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said.
On its website, the USTR said that the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture kept the Philippines’ export quota of 145,235 metric tons raw value (MTRV) of raw cane sugar under the tariff rate quota (TRQ) scheme of the World Trade Organization.
This is the third-largest quota after those of the Dominican Republic with 189,343 MTRV and Brazil with 155,993 MTRV.
The TRQ sets a volume limit for goods which can enter the US at a lower tariff.
However, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is not sure if the Philippines will be able to fulfill the quota.
“If the quota is retained then we will plan how to supply the sugar because the (US) buying price is lower compared to our domestic price,” SRA Acting Administrator and Chief Executive Officer Pablo Luis S. Azcona said in a Viber message.
Based on his estimate, the US buying price of sugar is at around P2,500 per 50-kilo bag, which is 20% lower than the domestic price of P3,000.
Aside from the lower price, Mr. Azcona said that the Philippines was not able to fulfill the export quota in recent years due to the shortfall in the domestic production of sugar.
“It’s hard to defend sugar exports to the US at a cheaper price if we have a shortage here,” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
National Federation of Sugarcane Planters President Enrique D. Rojas welcomed the US decision to retain the sugar quota allocation as it shows the Philippines is still a valued trade partner.
“Maintaining access to the US sugar market is ideal for the Philippine sugar industry, because we will have a ready market when our production exceeds our domestic consumption,” he said.
“Unfortunately, our production in the past years and the years to come falls short of our domestic consumption, prompting us to be a net importer of sugar,” he added.
As of July 2, the SRA supply and demand situation report showed raw sugar production for crop year 2022-2023 inched up by 0.42% to 1.799 million MT.
The production of refined sugar declined by 11.5% to 640,980 MT during the crop year.
The Philippines continues to experience a shortage in the supply of sugar, which has driven up prices.
To address the supply shortfall and stabilize prices, the Philippines is importing another 150,000 MT of refined sugar by mid-September.
In Sugar Order No. 7, the SRA said the sugar import program would “ensure sufficient actual supply of sugar for domestic consumption, as well as a two-month buffer stock.”
