SRA allocates all 200 K MT sugar imports to traders

All the 200,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar allowed to be imported have already been allocated to eligible traders with 100,000 MT going to the industrial users.

Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Board Member Roland Beltran said the agency will make sure that 100,000 MT of the imported supply will go to industrials as how it should be to arrest the “unfounded fear” that companies like beverage giant Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines (Coke) continue to bring up.

“We are pleased to note that the 200,000 MT of sugar allowed to be imported had been fully allocated to different importers,” Beltran said.

“We thus expect that market forces will correct itself as soon as the imported sugar starts arriving and bring the much needed stability in sugar prices.”

Beltran said earlier that the first batch of imported supply should already be here by the first week of July but there has been “unverified stories of port congestion” in Thailand where bulk of the supply will come from.

Nevertheless, he said the Sugar Board already gave the approval via referendum import clearance for the 2,000 MT of bottler’s grade refined sugar that is due to arrive this week and a week thereafter.

The bottlers’ grade refined sugar is meant for industrial use, mainly by beverage companies like Coke. This kind of sugar will be imported by beverage firms through their designated international traders.

However, Coke expressed concern that the supply will not reach them and is again lobbying for the government to allow them to directly import sugar from other countries.

“They are saying the supply of local sugar remains unreliable and that they will lobby to directly import the sugar requirements,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said, adding that Coke is set to meet with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez to formally discuss the matter.

Piñol said the government may be forced to allow Coke to directly import if the traders will fail to deliver their commitment to the beverage firm.

“If those who will import in the name of the bottlers will not deliver the volume as committed we will have to protect the interest of these companies by considering option to directly import,” Piñol said.

“I told traders who won the CORR [Certificate of Reclassification Rights] from the planters’ association, I said, ‘you know the government is upright and righteous. Do not play this game on us. Don’t play the situation in a way that you will import in the name of these companies and then you will not release the supply so the prices will go up’,” he added.

For this importation, SRA requires eligible sugar traders to have Certificate of Reclassification Rights (CORR).

Reclassification rights refers to the right to reclassify imported ‘C’ sugar to ‘B’ sugar. ‘C’ sugar is considered Reserve Sugar and for other purposes, while ‘B’ sugar is meant to be sold locally.

The SRA Board shall reclassify the imported ‘C’ sugar to ‘B’ sugar upon submission by the eligible importer or international sugar trader to the SRA of a written request for reclassification indicating the volume to be reclassified and the address of the warehouse where the ‘C’ sugar is stored.

For his part, Beltran said that Coke’s concern is “baseless” and “unfounded.”

“Coca-Cola has designated an international trader to import for them,” Beltran said.

“The program is clear. Sugar Order No. 10 leaves no room for doubt. 100,000 MT is bottler’s grade. This should satisfy the requirements of the industrials,” he added.

He also pointed out that the Sugar Board will not allow reclassification from C to B if there is no proof that the bottler’s grade sugar are sold to the industrials.