President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. stated on Monday, August 15, that the government is making every effort to address domestic sugar supply issues.
Marcos made this remark during a meeting with food manufacturers in Malacaang, where he raised the need for the government to assess how it can increase the supply of quality sugar for food manufacturing in order to protect local jobs.
"It has become a serious issue. We're doing everything we can to protect workers' jobs in those industries," Marcos said.
"As a result, we are researching several measures that we can implement immediately to increase the country's supply of sugar."
According to the President, the government is also working on sugar prices and is in talks with traders to lower the commodity's prices.
"Hopefully, we can work out some deals with the traders so that at least the pricing is reasonable. Right now, the supply is a source of concern. I'll make sure there's enough supply in the country for you to operate at full capacity," he said.
The President added that direct importation by food manufacturers with the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) approval as part of emergency measures to address current industry concerns is another area that must be investigated.
Although there is a need for the country to increase sugar production in the future, Marcos believes that the current pressing concerns of food producers must be addressed first.
Industry participants said that if the government is considering importation for industrial use, it must act quickly to secure supply from global sugar exporters, who may divert their output to other markets.
The President previously acknowledged that sugar imports may be required to stabilize domestic prices.
However, he stated that the Philippines may only require 150,000 metric tons (MT), which is half of the 300,000 MT previously proposed by the SRA.