The local sugar sector got off to a good start as raw sugar output more than doubled nearly a month after the current crop year (CY) kicked off in September, latest government data showed.
Data from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) showed that sugar production as of September 26 reached 59,805 metric tons (MT), which was 167.62 percent higher than last year’s 22,347 MT.
With the triple-digit growth rate in initial output, total raw sugar supply as of September 26 rose by 12.85 percent to 312,212 MT from last year’s 276,668 MT, based on SRA data.
Raw sugar demand during the period, as measured by withdrawals, was estimated at 80,869 MT, slightly higher than last year’s 80,268 MT.
Current raw sugar stocks were estimated at 210,271.23 MT, 70.02 percent higher than the 123,675.49 MT recorded a year ago.
Total refined sugar supply, however, declined 43.62 percent to 213,027.65 MT from last year’s 377,870.25 MT. SRA data showed that about 1,717.10 MT of the total refined sugar supply were produced in the current crop year while the 16,401 MT were imported.
The average mill-site price of raw sugar rose by 11.28 percent to P1,648.91 per 50-kilogram bag (Lkg) from last year’s P1,481.83 per Lkg average quotation, based on SRA.
Likewise, the prevailing wholesale price of raw sugar per LKg increased by 5.88 percent year-on-year to P1,800 while the prevailing wholesale price of refined sugar reached P2,350 per LKg, 6.82 percent higher than last year’s P2,200 per Lkg.
Despite the increase in the average mill-site and wholesale prices, the prevailing retail price of raw sugar remained at P45 per kg. However, the prevailing retail price of refined sugar rose by 9 percent to P54.50 per kg from P50 per kg last year, based on SRA data.
The Philippines has decided to allocate all its sugar production in the current CY for the domestic market on expectations that output will be lower due to the adverse impact of weather on sugarcane crops.
Last month, the SRA Board issued Sugar Order (SO) 1 which mandated that the entire sugar output for the current CY will be classified as “B,” or sugar for the domestic market.
The SRA board made the decision following the recent announcement of the state weather bureau of the reemergence of the La Niña phenomenon in the country which will coincide with the harvest and peak milling season in key sugar production areas.
The SRA’s initial pre-milling estimate for raw sugar production in CY 2021-2022 stands at 2.099 million metric tons (MMT), almost 2 percent lower than the 2.138 MMT recorded in the previous CY.
Despite a carry-over raw sugar volume of 158,557 MT, the country would be better served with an all “B” sugar allocation for the current crop year, based on the supply and demand projection of the SRA Regulation Department.
“After consultation with sugar producers, almost all stakeholders recommended an all ‘B’ sugar allocation, with all farmers associations/federations present in the consultation calling for a 100 percent ‘B’ sugar allocation for crop year 2021-2022,” SO 1 read.