DA to probe artificial sugar shortage

Sugar. Stock photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) will look into claims of artificial shortage or manipulation that supposedly caused hefty spikes in sugar prices, according to an official.

“We received complaints of artificial shortage, so we are looking into that,” said Undersecretary for consumer and political affairs Kristine Evangelista in an interview.

Evangelista also said they were verifying complaints of hoarding or manipulation they had received and, if proven true, the DA would “take the necessary steps.”

Evangelista said the DA would also review the cost structure of sugar prices.

Prices in the retail markets undergo various layers, from producing to marketing this sweetener. According to the official, sugar prices, largely dictated by traders, are supply-driven.

“We have to be able to correct that because we always have to protect consumers, the price of sugar from production until it reaches the consumers follows the cost structure,” said Evangelista in a mix of English and Filipino.

The agriculture official said they would meet with industry stakeholders to come up with a new cost structure, which shall serve as the basis for pricing sugar products in the succeeding months as well as to discuss other matters including the looming supply shortage.

Address supply bottleneck

Other items for discussion include deciding whether to implement a suggested retail price for sugar and plug the supply deficit through importation.

“If there’s a supply bottleneck somewhere causing price hikes, then that is something we have to address,” added Evangelista.

In Metro Manila, refined sugar in supermarkets is sold from as low as P69.30 per kilogram to as high as P115 per kg and in wet markets, from P88 to P95 per kg, based on the Sugar Regulatory Administration’s (SRA) price monitoring as of July 15.

Retail prices of raw sugar in supermarkets range from P54.20 to P82 per kg while in wet markets, it is sold for P65 to P70 per kg.

The agency will also conduct a physical inventory and inspect all warehouses where the country’s sugar stockpile is stored as part of the government’s efforts to fix the value chain.

The SRA earlier indicated the Philippines’ sugar stash would last until August although next month’s harvest may shore up the dwindling supply.

“If our supply is the same, we are looking at the same trend in the month of August. If additional supply comes in, prices might go down to P71 to P75,” said Evangelista.

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