Bacolod City, Philippines: Sugarcane growers might need to prepare for potentially lower sugar prices in the upcoming milling season, as indicated by a lawmaker.
Emilio Yulo, the Representative of Negros Occidental 5th District and a former board member of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), recently shared that sugar prices may not reach the levels of P2,400 to P4,000 per sack seen last year.
Yulo explained on a radio broadcast that this projection is due to the SRA having a surplus of sugar in stock. He also emphasized that this could pose challenges, especially for smaller sugarcane farmers.
In response, Yulo advised sugarcane planters to focus on increasing their productivity to offset the anticipated decline in sugar prices.
As per the SRA’s directive, two sugar centrals in northern Negros are scheduled to begin their milling operations for the 2023-2024 crop year on September 4.
Both Lopez Sugar Corp. and Sagay Central Inc. have announced that they will start receiving sugarcane at their transloading stations on September 1.
