Sugar Board favors gov’t buying to prop up prices
BACOLOD CITY—The Sugar Board is set to endorse a government sugar-buying program to the Department of Agriculture to help prop up mill-gate prices, a situation that has been hurting planters, particularly in Bukidnon and Negros provinces.
Sugar Regulatory Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said they will be ironing out the program’s details with industry groups to effectively address the low mill-gate prices of sugar.
Draft
In Negros, sugar prices dropped by P150 to P250 per 50-kilo bag from Feb. 20 to Feb. 27.
On Wednesday, Azcona held discussions with officials of the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations Inc. (Confed) and the National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines (Nacusip).
Confed and Nacusip are advocates for government intervention through a buying program to address declining domestic demand.
Azcona said the Sugar Board is drafting an order to regulate the entry of artificial sweeteners into the country.
In Bukidnon, sugar planters are bracing for higher production costs as fuel prices rise amid tensions in the Middle East.
The surge in oil prices is expected to increase the cost of farm operations.
