The Department of Agriculture (DA) has defended its move to import 200,000 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar and 200,000 MT of galunggong, saying that its attached agencies' data showed supply deficiency of sugar and fish nationwide.
DA Sec. William Dar disclosed that the agency was able to predict supply deficiencies with the help of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and the Sugar Regulatory Administration's (SRA) data.
“Wala pong katotohanan na corruption ang nag-drive sa decision na ito, sa makatuwid datos talaga ang aming basehan sana maintindihan po ng publiko ito (It is not true that corruption drove this decision, in fact it's a data-based decision so I hope the public would understand),” Dar said over Laging Handa on Friday, Feb. 18.
Dar clarified that the country has enough food supply for the first quarter of 2022 except for both commodities which were affected by Typhoon Odette's devastation in December last year.
In a separate statement, Dar said the aquaculture sector provides more than 50 percent of the required fish supplies. However, he stressed that it is insufficient to cover the first quarter's supply deficiency.
On the other hand, he disclosed that Odette's damage in the sugarcane industry — which was plaved at P1.15 billion — lowered the country's sugar supply from 2.099 million MT last year to 2.07 million MT in January.
According to SRA, the average monthly refined sugar withdrawal is 82,562 MT based on 2020 and 2021 reports.
“Meron na lang tayong balance ng refine sugar na 54,355 MT ayon sa SRA. So kapag hindi tayo magimport magkukulang tayo para sa isang buwan (We only have 54,355 MT of refined sugar according to SRA. If we don’t import, we will have a supply shortage for one month),” Dar explained.
To address the needs of help farmers and fisherfolks, he said that the DA continuously provides agriculture-related assistance and programs to help boost their livelihood