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SUGAR
producers and the Department of Agriculture (DA) Monday
inked an agreement to peg the retail price of sugar at a
range of P36 to P38 a kilogram to stabilize its prices
in a program called Abot-Kayang Asukal Para Sa Mamamayan.
The
National Food Authority (NFA), the Sugar Regulatory
Administration (SRA) and its subsidiaries, the
Philippine Sugar Corp. (Philsucor) and the Confederation
of Sugar Producers Association Inc. (Confed), were the
signatories.
The
program will be implemented for a period of one month in
Metro Manila during the Yuletide season. For the first
week of the program, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap
said an initial 4,000 bags of sugar will be made
available to Tindahan Natin outlets and NFA rolling
stores.
“With
the program in place, we can expect sugar prices to
return to their previous levels of P36 to P38 a kilo in
the next few days,” said Yap.
Last
month, Yap ordered the SRA to release its sugar reserves
to the domestic market to keep the supply and prices of
sugar stable, following reports that the rainy season
had cut back production of this commodity during the
start of the existing crop year by as much as 40
percent.
The DA
ordered the release of Class C or reserve sugar to the
domestic market and the reduction of its allocation for
sugar exports to meet local requirements, while at the
same time taking into the account the needs of local
food exporters.
The SRA
classifies sugar into “A” for sugar for export to the
United States to meet the country’s sugar quota, “B”
for domestic consumption, “C” for reserves and “D” for
exports to the world market, which is also made
available to food processors as “E” sugar.
While
the millgate price of sugar had dropped, retail prices
in Metro Manila have remained at a high level of P40 a
kilo over the past month.
Under
the program, the NFA will sell refined sugar not
exceeding P36 a kilo in one-kilogram bags with the NFA
label. The agency will disallow single purchases
exceeding five kilos.
Under
the agreement, the SRA will facilitate and coordinate
the supply of sugar to Metro Manila, negotiate with
sugar producers, designate representatives to attest the
deliveries made to NEA warehouses in Metro Manila and
notify Philsucor and NFA, and monitor the implementation
and compliance with the program.
The
Confed will coordinate with its member-cooperatives to
help supply cheap, refined sugar in Metro Manila through
NFA warehouses.
The DA
said the program can be extended with the agreement of
the signatories. |
