The country’s sugar production in the current crop year is expected to reach 1.84 million metric tons (MT), three percent higher than the government’s initial forecast of 1.78 million MT, as the industry steadily recovers from the El Niño phenomenon last year.

Data from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) showed that sugar output is on track to exceed the projection, with 1.82 million metric tons already produced before the end of the crop year.

In the Philippines, the crop year for the commodity begins on Sept. 1 and ends on Aug. 31 of the following year. 

SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said the increase in sugar production this year is attributed to the rise in sugarcane tonnage per hectare planted, which offset the lower-than-average sugar producer per ton of cane (LKGTC).

Visayas region accounted for the biggest share in the output at 71 percent, with Negros Island contributing 63 percent of the total.

Mindanao is estimated to end the crop year with almost 24 percent of the country’s produce, while Luzon is expected to account for about five percent.

Despite exceeding the forecast, sugar output in the current crop year is expected to be four percent lower than the 1.92 million MT recorded in the previous crop year.

Azcona said this year’s lower production was driven by the lingering effects of last year’s El Niño, which damaged hectares of sugarcane fields.

This, he said, was the reason the government initially issued a more conservative estimate.

With a stronger performance than expected this year, Azcona said this is proof that the Marcos administration’s efforts to stabilize sugar prices are now paying off.

He explained that “fair farm gate prices encouraged farmers to risk replanting their El Niño damaged canes, using new SRA varieties as they were hopeful that prices would eventually make up for the very high cost of production.”

He said that better prices also encourage new farmers to consider planting sugarcane.

Based on SRA data, the farm gate price is averaging around ₱2,734 per 50-kilogram (LKg) bag this year.

“We hope next milling we will get higher tonnage and most importantly, more LKGTC,” said Azcona. 

Mindanao has the highest average LkgTC at 1.74, which is followed by Negros Island at 1.65.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS) earlier projected that sugar production in the current crop year will reach 1.85 million MT.

The foreign agency is projecting that this will remain flat in the next crop year.