THE recent announcement of Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol to import 300,000 metric tons of sugar concurred by sugar producers present in a recent dialogue hosted by Senator Miguel Zubiri drew flak after several agrarian reform beneficiaries, small farmers, and sugar associations claim the figures did not go through “proper consultation.”
In a statement, Federico Locsin III, president of the Asociacion de Hacenderos de Silay-Saravia Inc. (AHSSI), said they were asked to explain by their members, over 2,000 planters, of which 75 percent are small planters and ARBs over the recent pronouncement of Piñol.
“We are not against importation and we have agreed to cooperate with the programs of the national government to curb inflation. However, we hope there is proper consultation on the matter and SRA should provide us a basis for this needed importation,” Locsin said.
Confederation of Sugar Producers Association Inc. (Confed) national president Francis de la Rama admitted that he made a “mistake” for not consulting his members.
De la Rama said that while there was concurrence among the members for a possible importation, “we did not agree on any amount and what we agreed upon is to recognize the mandate given to SRA to import if the same is needed and with justification.”
Last week, several ARBs, labor groups, and planters association already sent an appeal to the National Government not to allow importation just days before Piñol’s announcement.
The Hacienda Malaga Cuenca Agrarian Reform Coop (Macarben) also sent a manifestation to Confed that they are opposing what they call “massive importation of sugar,” citing entry of imported sugar will bring sugar prices down.
“We will experience a loss if sugar price will drop to P1, 500 per bag of sugar (Lkg) and below especially now with the high cost of fuel and very expensive farm inputs. We cannot compete with imported sugar and we appeal to President Rodrigo Duterte to prevent this,” Pedro Ogatis, manager of Macarben said.
In another position letter, the Viscaya Agrarian Reform Cooperative through its chairman, Alberto Hilado, said, if prices of sugar will drop due to importation, “we will have trouble repaying our loans to Land Bank and worse, we may be forced to leaseback our land to survive.”
Locsin, meanwhile, said they will make “direct representation to SRA to ask them to justify any importation programs and the process it will entail.”
“At the moment, a 300,000 metric tons (mt) importation without any program may make traders shy away from buying local sugar, and with milling season now beginning, this can spell disaster to many of our members,” Locsin added. (PR)