Planters group opposes molasses importation

NEGROS. The Planters Association of Southern Negros Inc. urges Agriculture Secretary William Dar to stop molasses importation. (Contributed photo)
NEGROS. The Planters Association of Southern Negros Inc. urges Agriculture Secretary William Dar to stop molasses importation. (Contributed photo)

THE Planters Association of Southern Negros Inc. (Pason) has urged Agriculture Secretary William Dar to stop the importation of molasses.

Pason President Jesus Adrian Campos Jr., in a statement, said another option is to put a cap on the importation of molasses to the volume needed only if there is a shortage.

Campos also thanked the Department of Agriculture (DA) for its positive response to the sugar farmers’ appeal for 100-percent allocation of “B” sugar for the crop year 2021 to 2022.

However, the continued importation of molasses being allowed by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has resulted in a sharp decrease in its prices, he said.

The decrease was from P14,000 per ton to P9,000 per ton last crop year or a difference of P5,000 per ton, Campos added.

He claimed that if this policy of the SRA will continue, the sugar producers, both millers and farmers, will stand to lose P5.8 billion this coming crop year 2021 to 2022, assuming that the sugar industry will produce the same volume of 1,161, 240 tons that it produced last crop year.

“We understand that the SRA is imposing a levy of P400 for every ton of imported molasses. Last crop year, it allowed the importation of thousands of tons of molasses which made them earn millions of pesos while the sugar farmers lost hundreds of millions because of the big drop in molasses prices,” he said.

Campos stressed that the sugar farmers need this additional income so that they will be able to meet the rising cost of input and modernize their farm operations.

"Increasing the income of the farmers will have a big impact on the economy of the country because of the multiplier benefits that will bring to the countryside," he said.

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