Manila: Refined sugar imports plunge to 66,325 MT
Imported refined sugar in the Philippines fell dramatically to 66,325 metric tons from 730,430 MT last year, with comfortable raw sugar stocks. The USDA predicts no raw sugar imports for 2025 to protect local producers, while exports are estimated at 25,000 MT. Local sugar output is projected at 1.85 million MT, driven by expanded plantation areas and improved weather.
IMPORTED refined sugar dramatically dropped to 66,325 metric tons (MT) from the 730,430 MT a year earlier, as raw sugar stocks from 2023 remain at a comfortable level, according to data from the Foreign Agricultural Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (FAS-USDA) in Manila.
For 2025, the agency said it sees no importation of raw sugar as the Philippine government moves to protect local producers.
Exports, meanwhile, are projected to reach 25,000 MT in line with the US tariff quota. “There are likely no additional exports after the September shipment as Sugar Order No. 1 allocates all production to domestic consumption,” the USDA said.
There is likewise no anticipated shortage of raw sugar at the start of marketing year 2024 due to stable carryover stocks from the previous year and because stocks continue to be high at the start of the milling season. November is usually the period in which production can meet the monthly demand. Raw physical stocks in 2024 doubled to 394,786 MT, while withdrawals have been slow, an indication of lower sugar demand.
The USDA also projected local sugar output to hit 1.85 million MT for marketing year 2025, higher than the Sugar Regulatory Administration’s (SRA) forecast of 1.78 million MT.The agency attributed the high estimates to the expansion in plantation areas and improvements in weather conditions from the previous El Niño.
“SRA’s initial announcements of production decrease of at least 10 to 15 percent, depending on the severity of El Niño, did not happen but rather helped to have higher sugar recovery from harvested cane,” the USDA said.Latest reports showed sugarcane-growing areas covering 26 mill districts in 20 provinces in the Philippines. Negros, Panay, Cebu and Leyte in the Visayas remain the top sugar producers, with Negros accounting for 61 percent of total production areas nationwide. Of the total area, 97 percent are allotted to refined sugar and 3 percent to bioethanol production.
