RAW sugar production declined while refined sugar output increased as of early September, according to data from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) released on Wednesday.
As of Sept. 6, raw sugar output fell 11.02 percent to 1.85 million metric tons (MT) from 2.08 million MT a year earlier.Refined sugar production, meanwhile, rose 11.60 percent to 689,808 MT from 618,103 MT.Domestic demand for raw sugar slipped 2.41 percent to 1.79 million MT from 1.83 million MT. Refined sugar demand climbed 2.40 percent to 613,076 MT from 598,695 MT.Raw sugar inventory stood at 230,684 MT, down from 373,816 MT a year earlier. Refined sugar stocks also dropped to 304,203 MT from 367,536 MT.Sugar exports to the United States spiked 50.62 percent to 99,538 MT from 66,086 MT.Earlier this month, SRA Administrator Pablo Azcona said shipments to the US could decline this year because of flooding, dry spells and red-striped soft scale insect infestations in Negros.Azcona also expected raw and refined sugar output to fall because of the same factors. The SRA has yet to decide whether imports will be needed this year.Based on the Department of Agriculture’s Bantay Presyo monitoring as of Sept. 17, refined sugar retailed at P80 per kilogram, washed sugar at P75 and brown sugar at P70.To increase output without expanding plantation areas, the SRA adjusted the crop calendar to run from Oct. 1 this year to Sept. 30, 2027. The change is intended to give sugarcane more time to mature and develop higher sugar content.
