MAJORITY Floor Leader Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri has called on the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to make sure that the country has enough domestic sugar supply to tide us over until the next crop year.
The Negrense senator, in a statement Sunday April 11, 2021, said he was "thankful" that the SRA finally saw the need to terminate the "A" sugar or US quota allocation as figures from the ground show that the targeted sugar production may not be met for this crop year.
Zubiri said he has been harping on "A" sugar issue for the last two years.
"I am not against it, but I have been stressing that before the A sugar program will even be considered, we must be cognizant of local supply," he added.
Zubiri said this already happened a couple of years ago when he called for the SRA to release the "A" sugar allocation to food processors and industrial users to avoid importation.
The senator was referring to Senate Resolution 156 that he authored then calling on the Department of Agriculture (DA) and SRA to convert the US sugar quota in order to mitigate the local shortfall.
The SRA, Zubiri said, initially projected that the national production this crop year is 2.190 million metric tons.
New figures recently showed that production will drop by about 90,000 metric tons, he said.
"I have been calling for the real-time assessment of production given the many disasters we've had since last year till early this year when Negros Occidental experienced flooding," Zubiri stressed.
Zubiri said with the milling season about to end, the SRA must ensure that supply is enough for domestic needs.
"Unahin muna natin ang sariling atin [Let us prioritize our own needs first]," he added.
Meanwhile, the senator encouraged industry stakeholders to hang tight as the battle against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic is far from over.
"Let us work together and remain steadfast in this battle against Covid-19," he said, adding that "we are all in survival mode but in unity and with the public and private sector helping each other, I am positive that we will surpass this too."