Sugar output for next crop year classified for domestic use
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) will once again classify all raw sugar production in the upcoming crop year for domestic use as output still lags behind overall demand.
SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona announced during the 71st Philsutech Convention in Cebu that sugar output in crop year 2025 to 2026 will be classified as “B” or domestic sugar.
Since 2022, SRA has designated the country’s sugar production for the domestic market given the expected output shortfall compared to domestic demand.
SRA classifies raw sugar output as “A” for raw sugar to be exported to the United States (US), “B” for domestic consumption, “C” for reserves, and “D” for export to the world market.
The milling season will officially open on Oct. 1, restoring the traditional fourth-quarter start after a three-year transition period.
As of July 27, SRA said raw sugar output has reached 2.08 million metric tons (MT), milling almost 26 million MT of canes.
A total of 405,000 hectares (ha) were utilized by the sugar industry, of which 392,000 ha was planted with sugar while 13,000 ha was planted with bioethanol.
While the sugar agency is upbeat that the industry will continue its growth trend, Azcona said he remains cautious amid the spread of the red-stripe soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation.
He has urged sugar farmers to be more vigilant as RSSI has now spread across over 3,200 ha in Negros Island and Panay Island.
“These are validated field inspection but the figures could be much higher and its effects on our sugar canes are not yet known,” he said.
As a long-term measure, Azcona said SRA is looking to secure a budget of ₱8 billion for soil rejuvenation and small-scale irrigation, covering about 160,000 ha over a three-year period.
He added that they are also proposing a ₱1.2-billion funding for 20,000 ha dedicated to propagation of high-yielding plantlet varieties.
“Our productivity in the past three years was largely due to the distribution of high-yielding variety canes and SRA intends to focus on this along with other scientific approaches to farming that we have been learning from our foreign partners towards our self-sustainability,” the official said.