Manila: Senator Risa Hontiveros has called on the Senate to review existing laws governing the country’s sugar sector as the competitiveness of the Philippine sugar industry continues to decline, Manila Bulletin reported.
Hontiveros said that despite the passage of the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA) of 2015 and the presence of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), the local sugar industry has steadily lost ground due to low farm productivity, high production costs, and inefficient milling operations.
“The laws were meant to strengthen the sugar industry and improve the incomes of farmers and workers. But today, our sugar remains expensive, our mills lag behind, and our farmers are struggling to compete,” she said.
In filing Senate Resolution No. 298, the senator stressed the need to review SRA regulations that link sugar import privileges to mandatory purchases and warehousing of local buffer stocks, as well as compliance with U.S. export quotas.
According to Hontiveros, these rules appear to favor large, well-funded trader-millers and may be concentrating control of the sugar market in the hands of a limited number of players.
She noted that local producers continue to trail major sugar-producing countries such as Brazil, Thailand, and Colombia. Domestic supply met only 87 percent of local demand, even though production reached a four-year high in 2025.
Hontiveros also pointed out that local sugar prices remain elevated despite imports and lower global prices. The resolution highlighted that cheaper sugar substitutes and misdeclared imports are hurting local producers and causing revenue losses for the government.
“Our farmers are struggling with rising costs but low productivity. Meanwhile, consumers continue to suffer from high sugar prices. The system is failing both farmers and consumers,” she said.
The senator added that the sugar industry supports around 700,000 workers and provides livelihoods to five to six million Filipinos.
Hontiveros noted that SIDA was intended to improve the industry’s competitiveness and raise farmers’ incomes, but more than a decade later, those goals remain unmet. She emphasized the need for the Senate to examine how the law’s P2-billion annual budget is being used.
“We need to fix the broken parts and isolate the rotten parts from the system. We need policies that truly raise productivity, lower costs, protect small farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries, and make sugar affordable for Filipino consumers,” she said.
