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MANILA – A sugar industry lobby group wants the government to increase the budget for the Sugar Regulatory Administration ahead of the removal of trade barriers under the Asean Free Trade Area in 2015.
In a statement, the Sugar Masterplan Foundation said the SRA has no ample funds to perform its task of ensuring domestic supply while boosting the income of farmers.
“The economic contributions of this sector are of primary concern. Preparing for the forthcoming AFTA adds to the burden,” SMF said, adding that, “the country’s sugar industry has been on a sariling sikap mode.”
The lobby group identified farm-to-mill roads, technical assistance to cope with changing weather patterns, as well as research and development for farm machineries such as cane harvesters and loaders.
SMF said competition from Thailand in particular would be tough, as the Thai government provides subsidies to its sugar industry.
“They will be coming in with a big advantage, thanks to the Thai government subsidies. Supplementary payments to Thai farmers practically assure profits at the farms,” SMF said.
Thai government banks also provide “friendly” financial assistance packages on a “pay when able” basis, the group said.
“There is government intervention in domestic pricing to ensure that the industry is able to meet its production goals,” SMF said.
The Philippine sugar industry contributes P70 billion to the country’s gross domestic product of nearly P6 trillion, and another P2 billion to the national treasury in value added taxes.
The industry said 60,000 farmers plant sugarcane across 420,000 hectares, of which 79 percent has farm sizes of 5 hectares and below.
“The small farms are being encouraged to form groups or blocks of 50 hectares each to consolidate operations and share support services," SMF said.
Besides its applications for food, sugarcane is a source of fuel ethanol, which can help displace more expensive oil imports.
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