Sugar sector complains of too much imports
The country’s sugar industry has already lost P7.28 billion due to overimportation—and may even lose up to P20 billion by June if the situation is not addressed, Negros Occidental Rep. Javi Benitez warned.
In a privilege speech on Wednesday, Benitez said that Negros sugar industry players recommended that the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) allow the importation of 150,000 metric tons of sugar only, but the agency brought in 424,000 MT—leading to oversupply.
This oversupply, Benitez said, pushed the price of cane and molasses down by 38 percent and 56 percent, respectively.
“The surplus flooded the market at the worst possible time, when our farmers were bringing their cane to mill. A stable farm-gate price sits between P2,500 and P2,800 per 50 kilo(gram) bag. By January 2026, mill-gate prices had collapsed to P2,000 to P2,200—a 38-percent drop,” he stressed.
Below production costs
“(This is) well below the P2,500 cost of production. Molasses (price) fell by 56 percent, from P17,000 to P7,500 per ton. Between October and December 2025, the industry lost P7.28 billion. If nothing changes, Mr. Speaker, losses will exceed P20 billion by June 2026,” Benitez added.
He explained that the high importation figures came just before the local milling season opened last October 2025. As a result, the country’s sugar inventory was at 902,082 MT, which he said “is a 44-percent increase over the previous year.”
However, Benitez noted that SRA’s Sugar Order No. 8 authorized the importation of 424,000 MT of sugar, with arrival scheduled between July and November 2025, right at the opening months of domestic milling.
