Marcos orders refined sugar importation

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. has asked the Department of Agriculture to take action and speed up the importation of more than 64,000 metric tons of sugar to stabilize the commodity’s price amid inflation in the country.

Under the DA Memorandum Order 77, Series of 2022, signed by Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban on 20 December 2022, Marcos Jr., who also serves as the Agriculture Secretary, said he was “concerned” about the country’s “very high inflation rate.”

The DA, citing the November 2022 inflation report, underscored that the yearly inflation increase for sugars, confectionery, and deserts had reached 38 percent.

“In this regard, you are hereby directed to immediately convene the Minimum Access Volume Advisory Council and expedite the importation of 64,050 Metric Tons of refined sugar through the MAV mechanism,” the DA said in the memorandum order addressed to the MAV Secretariat OIC Executive Jocelyn Salvador.

The MAV indicates the volume or amount of a certain agricultural product that may be imported at a reduced tariff. The MAV is the Philippines’ pledge to the World Trade Organization to promote international trade.

The price of sugar in the country increased earlier this year, cutting into the income of nearby bakeries that depend on sweets for a living. Soda makers have also mentioned the need for the said commodity.

Due to the contentious import order, several former Sugar Regulatory Administration personnel had previously been dismissed.