By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Confederation of Sugar Producers’ Associations (Confed) recently praised House Resolution 412, which opposes sugar liberalization, or the deregulation of sugar importation, saying the move shows Congress is “hearing the pleas of the sugar industry stakeholders who are being threatened [with] deprivation of their livelihood.”
“Confed [has] never been prouder of our champions in the House of Representatives,” stated association spokesperson Raymond Montinola.
The resolution was authored by 21 legislators from across the country.
The Department of Finance (DOF) earlier proposed the move towards liberalization, which Confed predicts would be “disastrous to the industry.”
“The high cost of retail prices in the domestic market has no correlation with millgate prices,” the spokesperson explained.
Earlier, Confed said any importation program “must be under the direct supervision of the Sugar Regulatory Administration for a calibrated, timely, and transparent import program.”
“Our local sugar industry, right now, needs the support of government,” Montinola affirmed. “Given enough time and continued government support—same as what the other progressive countries [are] doing—our sugar industry will become competitive.”
Last September 27, DOF issued an economic bulletin formally proposing the liberalization of sugar importation. They noted, the high price of domestic sugar makes Philippine food processors and beverage makers, which use sugar, uncompetitive on the world market./DGB, WDJ