Senator Grace Poe has suggested earmarking P20 from the sale of every kilo of imported sugar and using the funds to support the sugar industry.
Poe noted the huge disparity between the prices of sugar in the world and domestic markets. She also said international prices of sugar are at P22 per kilo while the cheapest retail price is at P70 per kilo in the Philippines.
“For every 300,000 metric tons we import, we’ll have P3 billion to give to our farmers. If its 150,000 tons only, that’s still P1.5 billion extra that we can give to the sugar industry to subsidize them and at the same time our consumers would stand to save P28 per kilo,” Poe said.
The controversial Sugar Order No. 4 was looking to allow for the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar this year but an earlier order allowed for only 150,000 metric tons.
During the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing on the sugar importation fiasco, Poe said the Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization Inc. (Philfoodex) said the landed cost of imported sugar in the country is at P35 per kilo but the cost of sugar for food manufacturers in Thailand and Vietnam is less than P30 per kilo.
For the industry to be competitive, Philfoodex said the industry can still compete for as long as the price of sugar does not exceed P50 per kilo.
“Clearly, the Department of Trade and Industry should start doing computations here. Even if we add P20, that will still be P3 billion for 300,000 metric tons or P1.5 billion and it will still be cheaper for our consumers if we liberalize the industry a little bit ‘pag may shortage,” Poe said.
With retail prices of sugar in the country now at P100 per kilo with the P70 per kilo available only in very select outlets, Poe said bringing down the retail price of sugar to P55 will still give consumers a reprieve.
In balancing the interests of consumers and local producers, Poe said the government must look at the timing of the importation and the harvest season.
“I really think we can support the industry by adding a little bit of tariff and that tariff will not even disadvantage consumers because it will still come out cheaper,” Poe said.
“I support the sugar industry but I should also advocate for our consumers who are clearly the ones getting the short end of the bargain,” the senator added.
Meanwhile, the committee chairperson Senator Francis Tolentino urged the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Administrator Hermenegildo Serafica a sugar supply inventory indicating the supplies of sugar in the warehouses in the Philippines and those previously released.
Tolentino said this would determine the question of whether there was indeed the existence of a
sugar shortage which necessitated the SRA’s issuance of the controversial Sugar Order (SO) No. 4.
Serafica then responded that said sugar supply inventory is unavailable for presentation in the second hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the sugar importation fiasco.
Tolentino also inquired into the sugar import plan and sugar market analysis can be created without any data on the sugar supply in the form of a sugar inventory.
This question was in line with the Chairman’s investigation roadmap presented at the start of the hearing.
According to Tolentino, the remaining issues yet to be resolved before the Committee were as follows: (1) whether or not there was a genuine sugar shortage to justify issuance of SO No. 4; (2) whether or not sugar industry groups were consulted prior to issuance of SO No. 4; (3) whether or not sugar industry personalities were misled to believe that the President wants SO No. 4 to be issued to address a national emergency; (4) whether or not Usec. Sebastian and the other members of the SRA Board had legal authority to issue SO No. 4; (5) whether or not Usec. Sebastian was authorized to sign SO No. 4 pursuant to the July 15 Executive Secretary.
