By CESAR JOLITO III
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has committed to issuing a sugar order to regulate the entry of sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners into the Philippine market, following mounting concerns from lawmakers and industry stakeholders over their impact on local sugar producers.
The commitment was made during the first hearing of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food held in Quezon City on Wednesday, February 25.
Negros Occidental 5th District Representative Emilio “Dino” Yulo, vice chairperson of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, warned that the volume and variety of artificial sweeteners entering the country have expanded significantly beyond high-fructose corn syrup and premixes.
Yulo stressed that the unregulated influx of these substitutes, such as sucralose, aspartame and saccharin, adversely affects local sugar farmers whenever they enter the domestic market.
He said the SRA is committed to initially regulating four types of artificial sweeteners through the forthcoming sugar order.
Based on SRA data, 814,000 metric tons of artificial sweeteners were imported in 2025, with traders giving them priority because they are cheaper and twice as sweet as sugar.
The hearing was convened to hear the concerns of various stakeholders and government agencies, as well as to obtain updates from the SRA on sugar importation policies and measures being considered to address persistent issues confronting the sugar industry.
Meanwhile, Negros Occidental 3rd District Representative Javier Miguel Benitez said future hearings should include traders, importers and industry partners, whom he noted were absent from the initial discussions.
Benitez underscored the importance of hearing directly from importers to determine whether import volumes are aligned with local production levels, domestic demand and actual consumption.
He added that the committee’s recommendations will be reflected in its official report and could be translated into legislation should both the House of Representatives and the Senate act on them.
However, he clarified that Congress can only recommend actions to the executive branch, noting that any regulatory amendments may ultimately be implemented either through the SRA or Malacañang.
Negros Occidental — the Philippines’ leading sugar-producing province — is increasingly affected by the growing presence of high-intensity sweeteners in the local market.
Import data show that volumes of artificial sweeteners rose from 355,196 metric tons in 2021 to 448,499 metric tons in 2022, climbed further to 473,029 metric tons in 2023, and 493,048 metric tons in 2024, before settling at 427,523 metric tons in 2025.
Aside from high fructose corn syrup, the three most popular artificial sweeteners used in beverage manufacturing are sucralose, aspartame and acesulfame potassium.
Scientific data disclose that sucralose is 600 times sweeter than sugar, while aspartame and acesulfame potassium are 200 times sweeter than sugar.
Records at the Philippine Statistics Office reveal that the combined importation of these three artificial sweeteners has risen from 950,989 kilos in 2022 to 1,100,783 kilos in 2023.
The importation of sucralose registered at 267,567 kilos in 2022 to 433,775 kilos in 2023, aspartame at 416,662 kilos to 631,767 kilos, while acesulfame potassium decreased from 266,760 kilos to 2,241 kilos./CJ, WDJ