Solon seeks probe over drop in millgate sugar prices
BACOLOD CITY – A Negros Occidental lawmaker would call for congressional investigation into the “artificial drop” in millgate prices of sugar, a key industry in the province.
Rep. Emilio Bernardino “Dino” Yulo of the fifth district stressed the need to take immediate and decisive action to stabilize sugar prices and safeguard the livelihoods of small sugarcane farmers.
“Let us investigate the factors behind these price instability and hold accountable those who are tasked to protect the sugar farmers and those who take advantage of the situation for an unimaginable profit,” he said in a statement last week.
Millgate sugar price is the amount paid by traders for the commodity fresh out of mills.
Yulo said the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), created under Executive Order No. 18, fell short of its task to ensure stabilized prices at a level reasonably profitable to producers and fair to consumers.
“When tested against its mandate, it is obviously clear that SRA has fallen short. The prices are not profitable for the farmers neither is it fair for the consumers. This failure impacts more than just the industry. The sugar industry is not just about crops. It is about families, communities, and their future,” he said.
At present, he said, 90 percent of the sugar farmers are small marginalized planters or agrarian reform beneficiaries who farm one to two hectares of land.
Yulo said millgate prices averaged at P2,850 per 50-kilogram bag at the start of the milling season and have steadily declined since.
Last Dec. 5, millgate price was at P2,470 or a drop of almost P400.
Alarming
“The situation is now alarming. These prices have fallen below production cost. To some, this P400 disparity may be just a mere number but to our marginalized brothers and sisters in the sugar industry, this represents their hope and survival,” Yulo said.
The country’s required raw sugar buffer stock is approximately 200,000 metric tons ,which translates to a 60-day buffer stock.
As of Nov. 15, the supply side has dropped to approximately 150,000 metric tons or just a 45-day supply.
“Despite the low supply and the steady demand for sugar, the industry faces low and declining sugar millgate prices. This is an aberration, something that requires our immediate attention, “Yulo said.
But while the millgate price of sugar has dropped significantly, supermarket prices have remained the same consistently, creating a huge disparity that burdens small farmers and consumers, he pointed out.
