Philippines : El Niño to affect 2025 sugar production – SRA
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) expects 1.78 million metric tons of raw sugar this year due to El Niño’s impact. Farmers face high costs and low yields, especially in unirrigated areas. The SRA aims for a 20% production increase through improved sugarcane varieties and farming practices, alongside investing in soil analysis technology to enhance productivity.
THE Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is expecting 1.78 million metric tons (MMT) in raw sugar production this year, the agency’s administrator and CEO Pablo Luis Azcona said in a statement.
“Our estimate is only 1.78 [MMT] because of El Niño — that’s a major factor. We anticipate the El Niño damage,” Azcona pointed out.
As of Feb. 9, the numbers stood at 930,878 MT. Azcona is hopeful this would increase, given that some farms in the northern part of Negros Island Region have yet to harvest due to rainy weather.
Big sugarcane farms with access to water are doing well in tonnage, although the sugar yield from the canes is low, Azcona said, but noted that big farms comprise only 10 percent of the sugar industry, and that many other farms still have problems with irrigation.
Unirrigated farms also suffer from high production costs since farmers have to plant and apply fertilizer twice due to El Niño.
“So, when the price of sugar was at P2,300 to P2,400 per 50-kilogram bag, the [farmers] were crying because they had to do everything twice — that’s painful,” said Azcona.
The SRA’s goal is to help increase production by 20 percent. Asked whether he thinks it is achievable in the Marcos administration, Azcona said it is possible on a small scale, but would take a lot of changes on a national level.
For instance, Azcona elaborated, “we need to work on sugarcane varieties, as well as the cultural practices on sugarcane farming.”
However, some farmers are resistant to change, Azcona said, adding that, in his personal experience, it took him three to four years to convince them to change their planting methods, such as row spacing.
It is difficult to implement changes in sugarcane farming because “you plant as you harvest,” Azcona said.
The SRA, he added, is also determined to enhance research, and has allotted P17 million for the procurement of two new machines for soil analysis. The bidding and awarding of the supplier will be done in June, and the machines to be delivered in 2026.
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Source : The Manila Times
