Marcos Orders Immediate Importation of Refined Sugar

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Agriculture the immediate importation of 64,050 metric tons of refined sugar to stabilize consumer price increases.

In a memorandum, DA senior undersecretary Domingo Panganiban cited how Marcos was “concerned” with the “very high” November inflation rate for sugars, confectionery, and desserts at 38%.

With Marcos as the concurrent head of DA, the rising costs of commodities prompted him to order the department “to take action and to stabilize sugar prices.”

The memorandum activated the Minimum Access Volume officer-in-charge Jocelyn Salvador to hold a meeting with the MAC Advisory Council and speed up sugar importation.

The National Economic and Development Authority mentioned in August that sugar prices increased at a pace of 5% since the start of 2022.

Source: Philstar