Philippine sugar ready to ship to US
The Philippines is preparing to deliver high-quality raw sugar to the United States, as traders are finalizing shipments before the end-September deadline.
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said exporters are booking two vessels to ship out locally produced sweeteners, with the first one confirmed in April.
In a recent briefing, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said the agency already informed the United States of the plans to deliver 66,235 metric tons (MT) of raw sugar no later than August.
“So, this year, definitely, they will be shipping out [close to the] milling season. So the sugar that will be shipped out will be very good quality, not the one that was stored for a long time,” he told reporters.
In 2024, the country resumed exports of raw sugar to the US market after allocating the entire production for domestic use in previous crop years.
The last shipment arrived in California on Sept. 27, 2024, just three days short of meeting the US deadline. It involved 25,300 MT of raw sugar transported by the cargo vessel Tate J.
For the second straight year, the Philippines will fulfill its export quota from Washington to stabilize prices for local sugar farmers ahead of the expected surge in supply during the local milling season.
Vast market
The SRA opted to keep the vast American market open to local producers, as some exporters expressed their willingness to help the government meet a portion of the US sugar quota despite the lower return along with “additional cost and uncertainty inherent to the exportation of sugar,” states Sugar Order No. 5, which governs this initiative.
For this round, the allocation would come from local raw sugar purchased by eligible participants under the voluntary purchase program initiated by the SRA in February.
Based on the sugar order, all raw sugar should be shipped out of the country not later than Aug. 15.
The export program is open to traders, provided that they are licensed international sugar traders in good standing and have complied with all the requirements and procedures set forth by the SRA.
Interested entities have until March 30 to submit their applications.
The Office of the US Trade Representative allotted 145,235 MT raw value (MTRV) of raw cane sugar to the Philippines for fiscal year 2025, covering Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025.
The Philippines holds the third-largest raw sugar export allocation for this period, following the Dominican Republic and Brazil. The United States earmarked a total of 1.12 million MTRV of sugar export quotas for several countries.
Many countries are allowed to supply specified quantities of product to the United States at a “relatively low tariff” under this tariff-rate quota system.
