Approximately ₱90 million worth of smuggled sugar and cigarettes were seized by authorities at the Port of Manila, further fueling the government’s ongoing crackdown on agricultural smuggling to protect farmers and consumers.

Officials from the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) on Thursday, May 29, inspected the smuggled goods earlier flagged by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

The BOC confiscated four container vans loaded with a total of 2,000 50-kilo bags of sugar, with an estimated retail value of ₱9 million.

Two of the shipments, which arrived on April 29 from Thailand, carried refined sugar imported by Roxas City-based Lapaz Multi-purpose Cooperative (LMC).

According to the DA, LMC allegedly did so without any permit or import allocation from the SRA. It also does not have the clearance to release imported sugar.

Meanwhile, the two other container vans, which arrived in January from Vietnam, also imported refined sugar but were originally declared as sweetener mix.

If the cargo were allowed to go through, the government would have been deprived of ₱1.8 million in import tax since the sweetener mix has lower tariffs.

The DA said the shipment has been declared abandoned by Yabai OPC, the consignee on record.

BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio stated that the two consignees will face charges for violating the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, specifically for importing agricultural goods without clearance and for misclassification.

“I'm sure matatakot na talaga yung mga smugglers na yan especially with the law, anti-agri-smuggling na talagang pwedeng makulong sila without bail,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel in an interview.

(I'm sure those smugglers will be scared now, especially with the anti-agricultural smuggling law that can actually have them jailed without bail.)

Laurel has since instructed the SRA to blacklist LMC and Yobai, who are both registered sugar traders and importers.

Since the intensified crackdown against agricultural smuggling began last year, over 20 local firms have been blacklisted.

The smuggled sugar is now undergoing tests by the SRA to verify if they are fit for human consumption to potentially distribute to the public.

Laurel said two of the shipments are still being assessed, however the other two were already found to have traces of mesophilic bacteria.

SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said laboratory tests revealed that the sugar have a microbial load of 3,775 CFU (colony forming units) per 10 grams, which is higher than the safe standard of 200 CFU per 10 grams.

Essentially, this indicates that the products are not fit for human consumption.

If the other shipments were found to be safe, Laurel said it would likely be given to the public. However, he said they will still consult if this is legal under the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act.

Cigarettes snuffed out

Aside from the sugar, the BOC also confiscated smuggled cigarettes worth approximately ₱81.06 million.

Earlier, the BOC confiscated a container from Taiwan that was declared as fabrics, but was later found to be cigarettes.

Rubio has identified I and C KR Manufacturing Philippines Corp. as the consignee of the shipment. He said they will investigate the firm and will file appropriate charges.

"We cannot let these illicit trading practices undermine the agriculture sector and hurt our farmers,” said Laurel, noting that consumers should relish the country’s own products instead of these smuggled goods.

Last year, the DA’s Inspectorate and Enforcement (IE) office seized ₱2.83 billion worth of smuggled agricultural goods.

From January to May 19 of this year, the DA-IE already seized and condemned smuggled goods worth a total ₱407.6 million.