Sugar industry leaders warned of longer 'dead season'

The provincial government of Negros Occidental and the Sugar Regulatory Administration has warned of a longer dead season this year that could affect thousands of workers in the sugar industry.

Negros Occidental Governor Isidro Zayco said sugar industry leaders including planters associations in different mill districts need to come up with plans to assist their workers this 2009. Dead season is a period when people in the sugar industry are out of work.

He added that the drop in fertilizer prices lately will be good for the sugar industry.

SRA Administrator Rafael Coscolluela also noted that the price of "B" or domestic sugar has been going up lately.

SRA figures show sugar production this crop year is estimated at 2.197 million metric tons. The initial estimate of the crop year was 2.22 million metric tons.

There are estimates that in some areas sugar production has dropped by 20 percent.

Coscolluela said last crop year production was 2.455 million metric tons so the country is stil faced with a 360,000 metric ton overhang from that period.