Following the lower sugar output due to the damage caused by Typhoon “Odette”, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has decided to import 200,000 metric tons of sugar to meet the domestic demand.
Hermenegildo Serafica, SRA Administrator issued a statement on Tuesday which states that “As per the projections of SRA on sugar availability, the country will have a tight sugar stock balance at the end of milling and we will not be able to meet the domestic demand for refined sugar for the complete season.”
The typhoon has devastated the sugarcane crops damaging crops worth P1.5 billion including sugar stocks in warehouses and facilities in the sugar mills.
According to the Inquirer.net, SRA data showed that as of January 23, the wholesale price of raw sugar in was P2,000 per 50-kilogram bag while refined sugar was at P2,900, from P1,700 and P2,150 in January last year. Refined sugar, on the other hand, is now selling at P57 a kilo from P50 last year.
