THE Confederation of Sugar Producers Association Inc. (Confed) has asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to have concrete measures to raise domestic sugar and molasses prices.
In its letter addressed to Marcos dated January 8, 2026, Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama Jr., Confed president, also asked the President to reduce local sugar inventory and establish a clear and predictable policy environment to restore confidence in the domestic sugar industry as a major commodity or economic driver.
Valderrama said the sugar industry is in crisis. Precipitous price drops, reduced sugar yields and soft demand for domestic sugar are leaving farmers and millers financially distressed, sugar refineries underutilized, and sugar workers facing the prospects of drastic work reduction.
He said the labor sector is already itching to take to the streets if no action is taken. Unfortunately, urgent and concrete solutions are yet to fall in place.
Valderrama noted that the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has cited its stakeholders’ lack of a unified stand to justify the delay in instituting needed solutions.
The reality, however, he said is that its proposed Sugar Order (SO) No. 2, Series of 2025-26, and behind it, supposed “4:1:3” incentive scheme (buy 4, export 1, and import 3), has not gained support from the majority of stakeholders, many of whom outrightly rejected it or have formally raised questions that await clear, logical, and convincing answers.
“Confed appreciates government’s announcement to stop all further sugar importations until December 2026, and its earlier plan to regulate molasses imports. We thank the President, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sugar Board for listening to the voices of your constituents. But this is only part of the solutions we need,” he added.
Valderrama stressed that on top of the announced no sugar importation until December 2026, concrete measures are needed to raise domestic sugar and molasses prices, among others.
In line with previous recommendations from Confed, Valderrama said they are proposing an alternative to the proposed SO No. 2 such as government-financed buying program, “C” (Reserve), molasses program, sugar importation policy, and technical working group.
“To our planters and industry stakeholders, we are not giving up. We cannot give up and surrender our fate to the negative consequences of government policy, even if well-intentioned. We ask government to make room for serious discussion of urgent solutions while a longer-term policy framework is fleshed out,” he said.
He added that the consequences of a festering and unresolved sugar industry crisis are not difficult to imagine. The fate of an entire industry now rests on the shoulders of government and industry’s own leaders.
“It is time to work together or expire separately,” Valderrama said. (MAP)