For 3rd straight year, PH exports sugar to US
The Philippines is exporting raw sugar to the United States for the third consecutive year this 2026, seeking to boost local sugar prices and address the current market glut.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) unveiled on Monday plans to export 100,000 metric tons (MT) of locally produced raw sugar to the US market at the soonest time possible.
“We will export raw sugar under the US quota system as soon as possible to provide the industry immediate relief,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement.
Tiu Laurel said setting aside a portion of domestic sugar output for export to America would help absorb excess raw sugar and alleviate the downward price pressure that has battered producers despite previous policy measures.
“In the last two years, exports of raw sugar have helped increase our farmer prices, and this year, this is a much-needed step that our farmers need. We cannot take the suggestion of just sitting and doing nothing,” Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said.
Certain countries, including the Philippines, are allowed to export quantities of sugar to the US at a relatively low tariff under a tariff-rate quota system. This forms part of America’s commitment under the World Trade Organization to grant export quotas to certain sugar-exporting nations.
The Philippines secured a raw sugar export quota of 145,235 metric tons raw value for fiscal year 2026, covering Oct. 1 this year to Sept. 30, 2026, the third-highest allocation from Washington, after the Dominican Republic and Brazil.
Data from the SRA showed that local raw sugar production had totaled 2.09 million metric tons (MT) in crop year 2024-2025, 8.5 percent higher than the 1.92 million MT recorded in crop year 2023-2024. This marked the highest production volume under the Marcos administration.
Rising output
“Since the new administration entered, our raw sugar production has been increasing and we have activated the US exports. It will be the third year now, and the volume exported is growing as well, from 33,000 tons to 66,000, and now 100,000 tons,” Azcona said.
Despite the extended sugar import moratorium until December this year, the country has seen elevated production and inventory levels.
“Even with the extended import freeze, however, local sugar prices continue to languish,” the SRA said.
Mill site sugar prices declined by 14.3 percent to P2,174.58 per 50-kilogram bag as of Dec. 21, 2025, from P2,537.40 per 50-kg bag in the same period a year ago, according to the SRA.
Azcona flagged the rise in artificial sweetener and other sugar substitute imports, which also contributed to lower prices and reduced demand for sugar. The SRA chief said import volumes of these alternative sweeteners have doubled to an amount equivalent to over 500,000 MT of raw sugar.
Tiu Laurel said the DA would closely monitor the importation of these products and consider regulating their entry if market disruptions persist.
