The Philippines has breached the two million metric tons (MT) mark on the local production of sugar, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Wednesday, June 18.
In a media interview, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. said the local output achievement shows that the administration is “doing something right” in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s directive to boost local support to farmers to increase agricultural production.
“Guaranteed na mag-breach tayo, and we will have the highest harvest of sugar in history. So, that is good news,” he said.
As of June 8, the country logged a 2.015 million MT harvest of local sugar, according to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).
Breaching the two million MT mark is considered the first since the cropping year 2020 to 2021, and is higher than the 1.7 million MT sugar production projection.
This volume may still increase in the remaining weeks of milling, Tiu Laurel added, citing the possibility of meeting self-sufficiency in the coming years.
The country’s production demand is set at 2.3 million MT, according to the SRA.
During the previous crop year, the country recorded 1.922 million MT of raw sugar output.
Tiu Laurel, meanwhile, attributed the good harvest to the “cropping intention” of local farmers amid stable prices of sugar.
“Na-stabilize natin. If a product is stable, people can plan. People can plan for the next planting season,” he said.
“Hindi iyong nag-aalangan ka. So, parang iyong planting intention nandun, dahil stable ang prices sa farm gate, stable ang prices sa retail.”
As of June 1, the average mill site price is set at P2,712.55 per 50-kilo of raw sugar.
Moreover, the average wholesale price is set at P3,135 per 50 kilos of raw sugar, or equivalent to an average retail price of P74.92 per kilo in wet markets and P79.46 per kilo in supermarkets in Metro Manila as of May 30.
The average retail prices of refined sugar, meanwhile, are pegged at P83.54 per kilo in wet markets and P89.30 per kilo in supermarkets.
In August 2022, retail prices of sugar surged to as high as P130 per kilo due to the plummeting stocks of refined sugar in the country. (PNA)