By CESAR JOLITO III
Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante, Jr. has expressed support for the sugar industry’s growing call to institutionalize clear policies on sugar importation, stressing the need to protect local farmers from falling farmgate prices.
Escalante said the Negros Association of Chief Executives (ACE) has already articulated its position to the national government, noting that while there have been “positive developments” initiated by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), these reforms would be more effective if formally institutionalized.
“There are positive measures already implemented by the SRA, but it would be better if these are institutionalized,” Escalante said.
He added that setting firm parameters before triggering sugar importation is crucial to prevent price distortions that adversely affect farmers.
The mayor emphasized that while retail sugar prices remain relatively steady, the buying price at the farm level has declined, placing the burden squarely on sugar producers.
“Those in between maintain steady income, but the farmers absorb the impact,” he said, warning that unchecked importation could further depress local prices.
Escalante said Negros ACE has conveyed its stand to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. through Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., urging the administration to ensure that sugar prices do not drop to levels that would harm planters and farmworkers.
The call comes ahead of a public consultation on the sugar industry scheduled on January 23 in Negros Occidental, to be led by Representative Mark Enverga for the House of Representatives and Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan for the Senate.
In a Facebook post, Negros Occidental 3rd District Representative Javi Benitez said the consultation follows a resolution he filed seeking a joint House-Senate inquiry into the state of the sugar industry.
Benitez underscored the importance of the dialogue as an opportunity to listen to farmers and stakeholders.
“Importante gid ini nga tion para mapamatian ang tingog sang aton mga mangunguma kag mabuligan naton tanan ang industriya sang kalamay,” Benitez said.
In the first two weeks of December, sugar prices fell to multi-year lows, with some mills declaring failed biddings due to either lack of buyers or bid prices deemed unacceptable by farmers.
Sugar producers earlier cautioned that without safety nets, small farmers who are forced out of sugar production face limited options due to lack of capital and technical know-how, potentially pushing families into deeper poverty and creating conditions for social unrest in sugar communities.
Echoing the call for unity, the provincial government urged sugar groups and industry leaders in the province to come together and present a unified stand before elevating their concerns to Malacañang.
With sugar prices continuing to slide, stakeholders warned that failure to act decisively could trigger an economic catastrophe not only in Negros Occidental but also across other sugar-producing areas, where thousands of families depend on the industry for survival./CJ, WDJ