Amid falling mill gate prices of sugar blamed on over-importation, Bacolod Lone District Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has proposed selling sugar directly to consumers to reduce the influence of middlemen, reported The Visian Daily Star.
Benitez made the proposal during a public consultation on the decline in sugar prices and its impact on farmers held on January 23 in Talisay City. He said that nearly all locally produced sugar is sold to traders, whom he described as middlemen taking a significant share of the profits.
“It’s like sleeping with the enemy,” Benitez said, referring to traders who dominate the current supply chain.
The lawmaker noted that 65 percent of sugar buyers in the country are industrial users, consisting of about 50 companies. He questioned why producers could not transact directly with these buyers, adding that he had already discussed the matter with the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) and several planters’ associations.
Benitez urged the joint committees on Agriculture of the Senate and the House of Representatives to conduct a hearing involving industrial users, farmers, and millers to find ways for them to deal directly with one another and reduce reliance on traders.
Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, who co-presided over the consultation with Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, echoed Benitez’s observations but clarified that the goal was not to completely remove middlemen from the supply chain.
“There is still 35 percent where traders can transact. What we are looking for is a better balance in the relationship between farmers, producers, planters, and the market,” Pangilinan said, stressing that traders still have a role to play, but with an improved supply chain from producers to consumers.
Sugar farmers have attributed the drop in mill gate prices of locally produced raw sugar to excessive imports of refined sugar and the growing use of sugar substitutes. They also said the decline in molasses prices is due to unregulated molasses imports.
Pangilinan and Enverga also called on the Department of Health to examine the continued entry of artificial sweeteners into the country and assess their potential health effects on Filipinos. Enverga cited studies in the United States pointing to the dangers of artificial sweeteners.
Pangilinan noted that the SRA has no authority to regulate the entry of artificial sweeteners, adding that the Senate would explore possible legislation to address the issue.
