By CESAR JOLITO III
Lawmakers from Negros Occidental called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to urgently address the continued decline in sugar mill gate prices, warning that the situation threatens the livelihood of tens of thousands of farmers in the province.
Negros Occidental 4th District Representative Jeffrey Ferrer raised the concern during a public consultation at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City last week, urging DA and SRA to come up with concrete and immediate measures to stabilize and increase mill gate prices.
“This is not about creating chaos. This is about finding solutions. They must find a way to increase the price,” Ferrer added.
Ferrer underscored that Negros Occidental accounts for about 65 percent of the country’s sugar production, making the province highly vulnerable to price fluctuations.
He stressed that the DA and the SRA have both the authority and obligation to protect farmers whose incomes are being squeezed by prices that no longer cover production costs.
“This is not frustration. This is an added challenge to the administration,” Ferrer said.
“Thousands of families depend on the sugar industry, and the government must act to protect their livelihood,” he added.
The lawmaker also recalled President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s earlier statement that sugar prices should be maintained at around P3,000 per 50-kilo bag, noting that agencies tasked with regulating the industry must align their actions with this policy direction.
Industry data presented during the consultation showed that mill gate prices fell sharply as the milling season opened in October 2025, dropping to an average of P2,200 per 50-kilogram bag — nearly P300 below estimated production costs and significantly lower than the P2,700 to P2,800 opening prices recorded in the previous crop year.
Traded below cost
Meanwhile, Negros Occidental 5th District Representative Emilio Bernardino Yulo echoed the call, saying the decline in mill gate prices has affected an estimated 90,000 farmers in the province, the majority of whom are small-scale producers.
“No farmer is exempt from the impact of low sugar prices, especially when sugar is being traded below the cost of production,” Yulo said.
Yulo also noted a sharp contraction in sugarcane planting in Negros, from 200,000 hectares down to 150,000 hectares, highlighting the industry’s shrinking base.
The public consultation was hosted by Negros Occidental 3rd District Representative Javier Miguel Benitez and was led by Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform chairperson Senator Kiko Pangilinan, together with House Committee on Agriculture and Food chairperson Representative Wilfrido Mark Enverga.
Benitez said the sugar industry is once again in a critical condition and requires urgent government intervention.
Despite a positive global outlook, Benitez said the local industry continues to suffer from overimportation, including the entry of 424,000 metric tons of refined sugar under Sugar Order No. 8, weakening demand due to artificial sweeteners, and rising production costs.
“These challenges are long-standing, but Congress is committed to addressing them to protect the future of the sugar industry,” Benitez said.
Not ‘for show’
Enverga said the public consultation will directly feed into a formal congressional inquiry in aid of legislation, dismissing claims that the gathering was merely symbolic.
“This public consultation will be used for our official inquiry in aid of legislation. This is definitely not a show,” Enverga said, stressing that hearing stakeholders’ concerns early will help lawmakers craft effective policy responses.
Lawmakers and industry groups also pushed for the immediate convening of the Sugar Industry Stakeholder Consultative Assembly, envisioned as a permanent mechanism for transparent decision-making, alongside the formation of technical working groups to address urgent industry issues.
The consultation aimed to assess the worsening conditions in the sugar industry, particularly the sharp drop in mill gate prices, and to identify policy measures and coordinated responses to cushion the impact on farmers and ensure the long-term sustainability of the sector in Negros Occidental./CJ, WDJ