PHILIPPINE raw-sugar output in the current crop year (CY) could reach 2.3 million metric tons (MMT), 2.77 percent higher than the 2.238 MMT recorded in the previous crop year, according to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).
The SRA’s latest projection is also 500,000 metric tons (MT) higher than its previous estimate of 2.25 MMT.
SRA Administrator Ana Rosario V. Paner attributed the possible hike in output to the expansion of areas planted with sugarcane in the current crop year ending August 31. “I expect production to be at 2.3 [MMT]. I’m looking at that level,” SRA Administrator Ana Rosario V. Paner told the BusinessMirror.
“There are still a lot of standing crops at the moment. I just spoke with our extension personnel, and they reported that there are still a lot of standing canes. That’s why I’m expecting that we will have an extended milling season, because we expect canes to be harvested later than last year,” Paner added.
She said the milling season, which usually runs from April to May, could extend to June.
SRA data showed that as of April 23, the Philippines has already produced 2.003 MMT of raw sugar, or 89 percent of the projected output of 2.25 MMT.
Based on the preliminary estimate of the SRA, the total sugarcane area in CY 2016-2017 reached 419,207 hectares, 1.87 percent higher than the 411,502 hectares recorded in the previous crop year. SRA data also showed that the local sugar industry hectares milled 22.189 MMT of sugarcane as of April 23.
“It’s [sugarcane area] higher this year than previous years. In the previous year the price of sugar was okay, so farmers planting other crops shifted to sugar,” Paner said.
The SRA pegged the domestic sugar demand for the current crop year at 2.15 MMT.
SRA data also showed that as of April 23, the Philippines has already shipped 74,464.99 MT of sugar to the US, filling more than half of the 136,201 MT allocated by Washington. The SRA chief said she expects local sugar exporters to ship the remaining volume to the US by June.
Paner said she will try to get additional allocation from Washington for the next crop year, as the Philippines has already front-loaded its shipments to the US.
“I will try to work on a higher quota for the coming cropping season. The early shipment of sugar signifies that our production is capable of filling the quota,” she said.
The Philippines exports sugar to the US under the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) scheme. The TRQ allows countries to export specified quantities of a product to the US at a relatively low tariff.
The Philippines has also exported some 407.16 MT of raw sugar to other markets aside from the US, according to data from the SRA.