Government Regulators Warn of Possible Sugar Shortage

Philippine government regulators have advised of a raw sugar shortage in the country. Manufacturers are now pushed to locally source for the product, increasing competition for the limited supply of sugar in the market. 

The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) through Administrator Hermenegildo Serafica has said that “Manufacturers who didn’t buy raw sugar historically are now buying even raw sugar to have the raw sugar processed as refined sugar for their consumption,”. It’s now expected that a shortage of raw sugar will follow suit. 

The agency questions government moves to block refined sugar importation which has then caused increased prices in the past months. 

According to data from the SRA, current supermarket prices for raw sugar retail at ₱49.50 – 71 per kilogram while in the same period in 2021, prices were noted to be at ₱41.07 – 56.85. While for wet markets, this same sugar is being currently sold at ₱58 – 70 per kilogram. Last year, wet markets sold this sugar for only ₱43 – 48 per kilogram. 

For refined sugar, supermarket prices have risen to ₱62.50 – 90 per kilogram from ₱50 – 63.35 per kilogram. In wet markets, the price has gone up to ₱70 – 80 per kilogram from ₱50 – 58 last year. 

Administrator Serafica has said that “It is only now that the prices have [gotten] out of hand and there is this situation that we are about to run out of sugar,”

The SRA has mentioned that output decline was affected by the “residual effects of Typhoon ‘Odette,’ continuous rain and overcast skies dampening the growth and sugar content of sugarcane.”

The sugar production of the Philippines is figured at around 1.8 million metric tons. 

Source: Inquirer