BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA

An official from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) once again expressed concern over the proposed liberalization of the sugar import policy in the country.

SRA Board member Emilio Yulo III said the local sugar industry is “very vulnerable” at the moment.

He added that President Rodrigo Duterte can any time issue an executive order for the implementation of a relaxed importation of sugar.

According to Yulo, the proposal not getting much attention is only temporary.

Once the election period ends, it may be approved, he added.

The liberalization of the sugar import policy was proposed by Duterte’s economic managers in a bid to curb the high prices of commodities in the country after the national inflation rate hit a nine-year high of 6.7 percent in September 2018.

At the time, Duterte issued Administrative Order No. 13, which suggested removing non-barrier tariffs and allowing direct importation of goods in the country so that input costs would be cut.

The government already applied this in the rice industry./DGB, WDJ