Bacolod City: The Congressional Agriculture Committee will hold a public consultation in the third week of January to address growing concerns over the sharp fall in sugar prices, Negros Occidental 3rd District Representative Javi Benitez said on Saturday, reported The Manila Times.
The planned hearing comes at a time when the sugar industry is facing multiple challenges, including a steep decline in millgate prices, pest infestations damaging crops, and natural disasters affecting lives and livelihoods. Negros Island, which supplies a major share of the country’s sugar, is experiencing what leaders have described as an unusually severe crisis.
Benitez, along with Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Representative Emilio Bernardino Yulo, is coordinating with various stakeholders ahead of the national consultation, which is expected to play a key role in shaping the future of the sector.
Small farmers, who account for about 80 percent of the sugar industry, are among the worst affected. Many are struggling to survive as costs continue to rise while earnings fall. The situation has also led to growing strain between those who can afford to wait for prices to recover and those who cannot.
Benitez said the consultation would serve as an opportunity for the sector to collectively address its problems and work toward restoring the stability and benefits that the sugar industry has long provided to Filipino families. He said united action was now essential.
He added that the meeting would allow farmers, planters, millers and traders to openly present their difficulties and seek immediate and lasting solutions.
In a joint statement, Governor Lacson and several mayors in Negros Occidental stressed the need for unity, saying internal divisions would only weaken the sector. They said presenting a common position before Congress was crucial to safeguarding farmers, workers and communities dependent on sugar.
In a separate statement, Yulo also called for solidarity among stakeholders and urged the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to take quick steps to stop the continuing drop in prices. He noted that while millers and large planters may be able to endure a prolonged downturn, small farmers lack any financial cushion and are left exposed as expenses exceed income.
Earlier, United Sugar Producers Federation chairman Manuel Lamata had praised the Marcos administration’s policies for the sugar sector, crediting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona for major reforms. However, that optimism has weakened following the heavy losses suffered this year.
After starting the 2024–2025 crop year at P2,800 per bag, average sugar prices fell to P2,350 in October and P2,400 in November. Prices dropped further in the first half of December to levels not seen for several years.
Stakeholders have already sought the president’s intervention. Farmer groups, including the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters and the Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers, are demanding two immediate measures — government purchase of excess sugar to reduce market pressure and easier access to financing from state-run institutions.
