Philippine : Sugar workers, farmers reject SRA proposed buying program
Workers and farmer groups in the Philippine sugar industry have rejected the SRA’s proposed domestic sugar buying program, warning it will trigger over-importation and depress prices further. They say the plan ignores weak demand, excludes major labor groups from consultations, and threatens the livelihoods of producers and workers.
BACOLOD City — Workers and farmers in the Philippine sugar industry have strongly opposed the Sugar Regulatory Administration’s (SRA) proposed domestic sugar buying program that involves sugar exportation with subsequent import replenishment, warning that it could further worsen the sector’s ongoing crisis.
In a letter dated December 18, 2025, addressed to SRA Administrator and Chief Executive Officer Pablo Luis S. Azcona, labor and farmer groups said the proposal fails to address the industry’s pressing problems of weak demand and massive oversupply in the domestic market.
The groups, led by the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (NACUSIP) and its allied organizations—the Congress of Independent Organizations (CIO), Philippine Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Workers Union (PACIWU), and NACUSIP–Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Council (NACUSIP-ARBC)—also criticized the SRA for allegedly excluding them from the recent stakeholders’ consultation where the program was presented.
They said their organizations represent the largest labor sector in the sugar industry, with the most collective bargaining agreements, yet were not invited to the discussions.
According to the groups, tying the buying program to import replenishment effectively guarantees future sugar imports regardless of actual domestic demand. They warned this could result in over-importation, flooding the local market and further depressing sugar prices.
“The volume of imports will be dictated by the amount exported, not by the real needs of Filipino consumers or the realities faced by workers and farmers,” the letter stated. “This disconnect will almost certainly lead to over-importation, pushing local prices down even further.”
The groups added that even the expectation of future imports is already having a damaging effect, as industrial buyers are reportedly delaying purchases in anticipation of cheaper imported sugar. As a result, warehouses remain full, incomes continue to shrink, and families dependent on the sugar industry are increasingly affected.
They further warned that if the program signals import arrivals by December 2026, demand for locally produced sugar could decline even more, making survival increasingly difficult for producers and workers in the coming months.
Describing the proposal as “unacceptable, unjust, anti-farmer, anti-worker, and anti-Filipino,” the groups called on the SRA to immediately withdraw the program and instead convene a genuine dialogue with workers and farmers.
“We call on the SRA to prioritize the welfare of those who produce the nation’s sugar,” the letter said. “Without workers and farmers, there is no sugar industry.”
Meanwhile, on December 22, the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) also wrote to Azcona raising similar concerns over the proposed program.
The federation warned that the voluntary purchase scheme could cause long-term harm to sugar farmers, saying it effectively guarantees additional sugar importation. It said traders are unlikely to buy domestic sugar at premium prices and tie up their funds for 60 to 90 days unless they expect higher returns through future import allocations.
Despite how the program is framed, the NFSP stressed that it remains anchored on the prospect of eventual sugar imports, which would further flood an already saturated domestic market.
While the program may temporarily reduce excess supply, the federation warned it would ultimately lead to increased sugar imports. Instead, it urged the government to directly purchase excess sugar stocks at prices fair to farmers and sell them later at a modest profit once the milling season ends./PN
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Source : Panay News
