NegOcc sugar situation validated

BACOLOD CITY-- The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is validating the supply and demand figures for domestic sugar in the country to determine if there is a need to continue importing sugar. Hermenegildo Serafica said in an interview Thursday here said the sugar milling companies in Negros Occidental have started to operate this month and roughly 63 percent of their sugar supply will come from the province.SRA put its preliminary crop estimate for this year is at 2,250,000 metric tons. But it is checking if milling centrals in other parts of the country like Negros Oriental, Panay, Mindanao and Luzon will also open.The validation will determine if the sugar supply will be high or smaller than last year’s, he said.Last year, sugar supply was estimated at 2 million MT, necessitating the importation of 200,000 bags to make up for the shortfall, Serafica said. He also said that from Oct. 8 until this week, SRA allowed the importation of 150,000 bags from China, which is stipulated under the Sugar Order No. 2. Serafica cannot definitely state if importation will continue, saying SRA is still collating figures from beverage companies.But he noted there is a high demand on the domestic sugar recently, given that the beverage companies such as Coca-Cola needs 100,000 bags every week. “The beverage companies in the country is using pure domestic sugar, given that the excise tax is only P6 per liter compared to P12 per liter on using high fructose corn syrup,” Serafica said. (Mark Garcia)