By CESAR JOLITO III

The government is set to roll out comprehensive stakeholder consultations as the cornerstone of its plan to amend the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA), ensuring that the law keeps pace with the evolving conditions of the sugar industry.

The stakeholders said the planned consultations will serve as the primary mechanism for identifying priority amendments to SIDA, particularly provisions that no longer reflect current industry realities.

“Central to the plan is engaging stakeholders to propose amendments to SIDA, so the law accurately reflects the present state of the industry,” the officials said.

At the heart of the proposed reforms is the conduct of structured and regular consultations with key industry players, including planters, millers, refiners, traders, and other stakeholders.

These discussions are expected to generate concrete recommendations, especially on refining performance, importation policy alignment and governance mechanisms.

Refining performance will be a major focus of the review, with stakeholders expected to assess operational efficiency, capacity utilization and competitiveness of local refineries.

Officials stressed that improving refining performance is critical to stabilizing supply and strengthening the industry.

“The consultations will look closely at refining performance and how it can be improved to better serve both producers and consumers,” they said.

Another key area is the alignment of importation policies with domestic production realities.

Importation

Policymakers acknowledged that mismatches between import decisions and local supply conditions have contributed to market disruptions in the past.

“There is a need to ensure that importation policies are aligned with actual industry conditions and production cycles,” officials said, adding that stakeholder input will be crucial in crafting balanced and responsive policies.

Equally significant is the proposal to institutionalize regular stakeholder consultations under SIDA.

By embedding a formal consultation process into the law, authorities aim to make industry dialogue a permanent feature of policy-making rather than an ad hoc practice.

“Institutionalizing regular consultations will ensure that policy decisions are consistently informed by stakeholders and grounded in industry realities,” officials said.

While the initiative does not seek a full overhaul of SIDA, officials emphasized that targeted amendments are necessary to modernize the law more than a decade after its enactment.

The outcomes of the consultations will be consolidated and used as the basis for proposed legislative amendments to be submitted to Congress.

The move comes amid continuing challenges facing the sugar sector, including fluctuating global prices, rising production costs and supply pressures, underscoring the urgency of updating the law through inclusive, focused and institutionalized stakeholder engagement./CJ, WDJ