The country's sugar supply may run out by August should the government prohibit the importation of sugar, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said.
It noted that only one of the 13 refineries is operational as most of them stopped their operations in May.
"If we rely on our local production alone and do not allow importation, by August, we won't have enough sugar and we won't have any carryover stocks for our needs in the coming months until production builds up," the SRA said in a statement.
"Refineries also start later than the raw mills since refineries need to wait for raw sugar stock to build up before they can start refining," it pointed out.
The country's carry-over stock for refined sugar, per SRA, was 144,000 thousand metric tons.
"Our estimated refined sugar production is 771,000 metric tons giving us a total refined sugar stock balance of 915.000 metric tons," it noted.
But, the country's estimated demand for refined sugar is 943,000 metric tons, having an average monthly demand of 83,000 metric tons.
The SRA cited the damage caused by Typhoon Odette to the sugarcane fields, which is around P1.5 billion.
According to the SRA, such does not include the amount of damage caused by the typhoon to the mills and refineries.
For the people who do not believe there's a sugar shortage, the SRA said "sugar shortage is real, it is not a figment of the imagination."
"Those who claim otherwise either 1) do not have all the information they need to properly analyze the situation; 2) are just trying to manipulate perception to suit their own self-interest and hidden agenda; or 3) refuse to see what is right in front of them because of their own delusions."