THE Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has asked the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to give it until November to determine whether the Philippines can fulfill its sugar export quota, as declining production threatens domestic supply.
SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said actual milling figures for October and November would guide the decision.
“We need to monitor and verify our raw sugar production,” Azcona said last week. “We’ll know by November if we can export to the US.”
The Philippines received a US allocation of about 154,400 metric tons (MT) raw sugar value for fiscal year 2027, including an additional quota granted last month.
However, the SRA and industry stakeholders agreed on Oct. 1 to allocate all raw sugar production for crop year 2026–2027 to domestic use, classified as “B” sugar. Output is projected to fall 11 percent to 1.66 million MT from about 1.85 million MT due to El Niño.
Azcona said the USDA had requested shipments of 147,000 MT. Most stakeholders, however, said exports would be difficult to justify amid expected supply constraints caused by El Niño and red-striped soft scale insect infestations.
Sugar producer federations, including Confed, the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters, PanayFed, the Mindanao Federation of Sugarcane Planters and Unifed, endorsed the all-domestic allocation to prevent local shortages.
Some traders and the Luzon Federation of Sugarcane Planters (LuzonFed) suggested classifying 4 to 10 percent of production as “A” sugar for the US market, arguing that exports could help lift domestic prices.
LuzonFed president Cornelio Toreja said fulfilling the US quota could make sense if export prices were favorable, but his group would follow the majority decision.
Azcona proposed another meeting in November to review sugar prices and assess whether actual production supported the forecast.
“I hope we can make this a regular process of consulting each other,” he said.
SRA data as of Sept. 13 showed raw sugar production fell 11 percent to 1.85 million metric tons from 2.08 million tons a year earlier. Refined sugar output rose 12 percent to about 689,800 tons from 618,100 tons.
Domestic demand for raw sugar declined 2.6 percent to 1.8 million MT from 1.85 million MT. Demand for refined sugar increased 3.6 percent to about 627,500 MT from 605,600 MT.
