Sugar regulator undecided on exporting to US

The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is weighing whether to export locally produced sugar to the United States, but assured the public that it would prioritize the domestic market.

SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said the agency is targeting an end-October decision, depending on local output at the start of the milling season.

“Because I want to see what our output is for October,” Azcona said in a recent interview. “We may or may not export depending on that.”

Azcona said the October deadline was self-imposed and if the situation improves, “We might serve the US quota if it’s good.”

“I’ll wait until October is over, then we’ll have to come up with an answer to the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) to decide whether to proceed with the sugar exports,” Azcona said.

“For now, based on our estimates, the farmers and the millers, we all agreed to go domestic first,” he told reporters, adding that the sugarcane tonnage is lower while yield has slightly improved.

Azcona said informing the USDA of its decision by end-October would allow the US government to source raw sugar from other exporting countries.

He also said timely coordination with Washington is important, adding that the shipping capacity bound for western US is limited.

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The Philippines was allotted a quota of 154,386 metric tons (MT), holding the second-largest volume after the Dominican Republic, for fiscal year 2027.

Azcona said the SRA expected delayed harvesting, noting that three sugar mills in Negros opened on Oct. 1 and are now running at full capacity, while others have since begun operations.

He also said sugarcane crops were stunted by El Niño, while some farmers whose crops were affected by the red-striped soft-scale insect harvested earlier.