Sugar producers seek consultation on importation plan
The National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) and the Panay Federation of Sugarcane Farmers (Panayged) have joined calls to consult industry stakeholders in its plan to import 200,000 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar by September.
In a joint statement emailed Tuesday, the two sugar groups appealed to the government to craft “a data-based, transparent and consultative sugar importation plan.”
NFSP president Enrique Rojas and Panayfed president Danilo Abelita called on the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to conduct a consultation and enlighten the industry on the basis of the proposed importation plan.
“We need to see the sugar production and demand figures which were used as the basis for such a plan,” Rojas and Abelita said.
Earlier, the Confederation of Sugar Producers Association (Confed) wrote a letter to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. expressing their concerns over the proposed importation of refined sugar before local harvest begins.
Confed President Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama said sugar stakeholders were not consulted before such pronouncements were made.
The group is asking the SRA to consult stakeholders to discuss any policy governing the industry for crop year 2024-2025 beginning in September this year.
“Consistent with our frequently-stated position, we reiterate that any sugar importation plan should be data-based, calibrated, totally transparent and fair, done in consultation with industry stakeholders and therefore immune from speculation and manipulation,” Valderrama said.
Read Link: https://business.inquirer.net/466882/sugar-producers-seek-consultation-on-importation-plan
