NEGROS Occidental Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer said the sugar importation plan of the government must be implemented during the off-milling season.

Ferrer said if there is a shortage, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) must present the figures and data and the president will decide.

"We have never been consulted about any sugar importation," Ferrer said.

"We are now at the milling season and importations have been made in previous months," Ferrer added.

The SRA is in the process of drafting a plan to import about 450,000 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar in response to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to maintain a two-month buffer stock of the commodity.

Marcos announced that his administration will maintain a two-month buffer stock to ensure that there is no shortage of supply.

Earlier, Fifth District Rep. Emilio Yulo III also said that any sugar importation must be studied well first and the government should observe proper timing.

He also proposed that any importation should be made after the milling season to determine the exact figure of the sugar supply shortage.*