NEDA Proposes Plans to Address Sugar Issues
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan stated that the government is looking for ways to tackle current problems experienced by the local sugar industry.
During an economic forum organized by the San Miguel Corp and the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines, Sec Balisacan said that the greatest challenge for the local sugar sector is the lack of volume in the local market.
He has mentioned that as the economy expands with the inadequate supply of sugar in the country, this has caused the prices to increase.
“There’s an ongoing exercise right now because we are preparing some papers —some strategic paper(s) for addressing this kind of issue,” said Secretary Balisacan.
He has also mentioned that the government needs to have a sit-down talk with industry players and sugar farmers to gain a “clear picture” of the gap between the supply and demand of sugar.
“We need to see what the production potential of our sugar industry vis-à-vis the demand. Obviously, the demand for sugar is quite elastic, meaning it grows with the economy. So total requirements, total volume is likely to rise. So the question is: Can the production catch up with the demand?” Sec Balisacan adds.
It was mentioned by Sec Balisacan that stakeholders should consider the capability of sugar producers if the expansion of their farming land is possible, as well as if high-yield plant varieties are being used “to give confidence that productivity is going to rise” since farming land has not increased due to other demands for land.
Source: Philippine News Agency
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