Trade and Industry Secretary Slammed For Possible Sugar Price Freeze

DTI threat of sugar price freeze hit

A sugar leader yesterday slammed Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila for warning of a possible price freeze on sugar because of a perceived supply shortage that is driving up retail prices.

“What is this, the whole country under martial law? We are in a democratic country, there should be free market forces,” Manuel Lamata, president of the United Sugar Producers Federation, said.

“It is not the producers, but the traders, re-packers and retailers of sugar who are making the money, why punish the whole industry?” Lamata asked.

He said when the prices of sugar dropped at the expense of producers, government did not help prevent the fall, and now that the prices are going up and finally enabling them to recover it wants to put a ceiling.

“We are inviting Favila to come to Negros . We will bury him in a sugar warehouse to prove to him that we are not short of sugar,” Lamata said.

“Prices of inputs in producing sugar have gone up. If government wants to put a price ceiling on sugar it should also put up a stop to the rise in prices of farm inputs and fuel,” he said.

He pointed out that diesel is P8 a liter more expensive than in Manila and the sugar industry runs on fuel.

Lamata and Enrique Rojas, president of the National Federation of Sugarcane Producers, said the Philippine Sugar Alliance in a meeting on Wednesday in fact agreed to the release of part of the country's reserve sugar to address to perceived tight supply.

“We are a very responsible industry,” Lamata said.

There is no need for a price freeze, we are in fact releasing 10,500 tons of “C1” reserve sugar into the domestic market to stabilize prices, Rojas said.

Even if government imports sugar, it cannot bring in cheaper sugar at the prevailing world market prices, Rojas said.

Sugar Regulatory Administrator Rafael Coscolluela said Favila has invited sugar stakeholders to a meeting at the DTI office in Manila today to discuss the rise in prices of sugar.

But domestic sugar prices are just following the world market trend, you cannot fight the law of supply and demand, Coscolluela said,

He said prices that are fair to producers must be considered, or the disappearance of sugar in the market could be exacerbated, he said.

The retail prices of sugar are from P44 to P45 a kilo in Manila , and in smaller stores at P48 a kilo, Coscolluela said.*CPG

source: visayandailystar