Sugar

By: Teodoro C. Mendoza, inquirerdotne, 6 Jan 2020 In the past, the Philippines was a sugar exporting country. At the height of exportation, 20 percent of all Philippine agricultural products being shipped to other countries is sugar.

by Ian Biong, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 15 Apr 2020 MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) appealed to Bukidnon Governor Jose Maria Zubiri Jr. to lift his orders shutting down sugar mills and plantations in the province because “such restrictive policy would only result in artificial shortage and thus price spikes.”

By Eireene Jairee Gomez, Manila Times, 24 Jan 2020 THE three-year underutilization of a P2-billion fund under the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA), meant to primarily increase the competitiveness of Filipino sugarcane farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), was mainly caused by the repeated delays and failures of partner-agencies involved in the law’s implementation, according…

By Madelaine B. Miraflor, Manila Bulletin, 2 Dec 2019 A group of sugar producers has sought an audit on Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) amid the “challenges” being faced by the local industry.

By: Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 20 Nov 2019 Dismantling the sugar cartel will slash local prices even as the government soft-pedals on its plan to liberalize the sector, the country’s chief economist said Tuesday.

Duterte economic team heeds Senate request to defer import-easing plan By: Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 18 Nov 2019 The Duterte administration’s economic team is heeding the Senate’s request to defer the liberalization of the sugar industry even as the government wanted to bring down domestic prices and address supply shortages by possibly…

By: Karl R. Ocampo , Philippine Daily Inquirer 18 Oct 2019 In an unprecedented move, the country’s sugar producers, millers, traders and major users, mainly food processors, have united against the government’s plan to liberalize the sugar industry.

by Madelaine B. Miraflor, Manila Bulletin, 5 Oct 2019 Confederation of Sugar Producers (CONFED), the largest sugar group in the country, is supportive of the call to halt the country’s sugar exports to the United States (US), which could mean letting go of the world’s largest economy as a regular, consistent trading partner when it…

by Karl R. Ocampo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Aug 30, 2019 Wolf in sheep’s clothing. This was how a sugar industry leader described Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. after the company asked the government to allow it to switch back to using high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in its operations and lower the tax imposed on beverages using…

By Elijah Felice Rosales, Business Mirror, Jul 2, 2019 THE standoff on the sugar trade liberalization has begun. Economic managers are headed for a collision course on whether or not to allow the open importation of sugar.

By Elijah Felice Rosales, Business Mirror, Jun 12, 2019 Workers cook brown sugar in a factory in Bacolod, Negros Occidental. Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez told the BusinessMirror the government remains firm in keeping sugar prices low by shunning plans to liberalize the sugar trade industry.

by Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star) – Apr 28, 2019 MANILA, Philippines — The local sugar industry is seeking the Senate’s help to investigate the high prices of the commodity after the Department of Trade and Industry failed to look into the situation.

by Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star), Feb 6, 2019 MANILA, Philippines — The local sugar industry has slammed anew the government’s economic team for pushing for the liberalization of sugar imports.

By: Karl R. Ocampo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jan 21, 2019 Stakeholders of the sugar industry are not that optimistic with the government’s decision to liberalize sugar imports in the country as a means to address the spike in the commodity’s retail prices.

by Roy Stephen C. Canivel, Inquirer, Sep 18, 2018 Sugar-based food products made here in the Philippines might lose to their imported counterparts from Southeast Asia partly due to the prohibitive price of domestic sugar.

by Karl R. Ocampo, Inquirer, Mar 2, 2018 The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is trying to find ways to keep the sugar industry alive as more and more farmers shift to working in other industries with better pay.

By Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star), Mar 31, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – Beverage giant Coca-Cola Femsa Philippines has vowed to increase its local sugar procurement provided the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) allows its access to the export market which is significantly cheaper than the domestic one, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

by Dolly Yasa, the Daily Guardian, Mar 25, 2017 BACOLOD CITY – Labor groups in Negros Occidental on Mar. 24, 2017 declared Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol as “persona-non-grata” even as the official declared on his Facebook account that he has found a “win-win” solution to the issue of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or corn…

By: Carla P. Gomez, INQInquirer Visayas, Mar 25, 2017 BACOLOD CITY — Labor and agrarian reform beneficiary groups in Negros Occidental passed a resolution on Friday declaring Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol “persona non grata”.

By Lalaine Jimenea (The Philippine Star), Feb 19, 2017 ORMOC CITY, Philippines – The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has issued an order regulating the entry of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) into the country.

BY EUGENE Y. ADIONG, Manila Times, Feb 9, 2017 BACOLOD CITY: The lead convenor of a labor-based group here opposing the unabated entry of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has warned against unwarranted interventions of beverage and softdrink companies as the Sugar Board is set to meet on February 17.

BY GILBERT BAYORAN, Visayan Daily Star, January 10, 2017 The sugar industry loses about P10.5 billion due to the importation and use of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) by beverage and food producers in the country, the Confederation of Sugar Producers Inc. said. Records of the Bureau of Customs for 2016 showed that HFCS imports…

MANILA, Philippines — The government has earmarked P98.5 million to provide free college education to eligible dependents of sugar industry workers and small cane farmers, Pasig Representative Roman Romulo, chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on higher and technical education, said.

MANILA, Philippines – A total of P100 million every year has been earmarked to support qualified college and post-graduate students who can contribute to building up the country’s sugar industry, House Assistant Majority Leader and Cebu Rep. Gerard Anthony Gullas Jr. said over the weekend.

MANILA – The implementation of the Common Effective Preferential Tariff scheme under the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) in 2015 may imperil the livelihood of about 62,000 sugar farmers and 600,000 sugar workers in the country, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is allowing the reclassification of unshipped world market sugar to the domestic market to stabilize local supply and bring down prices.

The Department of Labor and Employment is preparing for the possible negative effects the reduction of imported sugar tariff’s, as scheduled in the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), will have on thousands of sugar workers.

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Negrenses are now joining the sugar industry in pushing for the swift passage of the Sugarcane Industry Development Act, now pending in both chambers of Congress.

The TUCP (Trade Union Congress of the Philippines) and its political arm, TUCP Partylist, which currently has one seat in Congress, are joining the sugar industry in pushing for the passage of the Sugarcane Industry Development Act authored by 3rd District Rep. Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez.