The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has temporarily halted Sugar Order 6 (SO) which imposed additional import requirements for sugar alternatives and sugar-based products. This decision follows concerns raised by industry representatives who argue that the order will lead to increased costs, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and ultimately harm consumers.
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has suspended Sugar Order 6 (SO), which imposed additional requirements for imports of sugar alternatives and other sugar-based products. The suspension followed concerns raised by industry representatives. SRA chief Pablo Azcona stated that the decision was made during the SRA Board meeting on January 23rd, in response to stakeholder concerns.
Azcona emphasized that the Department of Agriculture (DA) is facilitating further discussions with these stakeholders. Major industry groups had previously urged the SRA to reconsider SO 6, highlighting the broader implications of the order on importers and concessionaires. SO 6 mandated import clearance fees for sugar alternatives and sugar-based items such as specially sugar, flavored syrup, lactose, glucose, maltose, maple syrup, honey, and caramel. It also imposed a clearance for release fee of P3.00 per 50-kilogram bag or P60.00 per metric ton, excluding fructose. The SRA maintains that the order is for monitoring purposes and aims to generate an accurate database on the entry of sugar-based products, ultimately improving supply and demand planning for the benefit of farmers and consumers. The Federation of Philippine Industries Inc. (FPI) expressed that if the SRA's objective is merely data collection, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) can provide this information due to its data computerization efforts. The FPI further argued that the order would lead to bureaucratic inefficiencies, increase business costs, raise selling prices for beverages and confectionery products, and negatively affect Filipino consumers. They urged the SRA to engage in dialogue with the beverage, food, and confectionery industries to understand and address their concerns. Azcona refuted these fears as unfounded, stating that the SRA processes over a thousand sugar-related import clearances annually with typical processing times of two to three working days. He cited the issuance of import clearances for fructose under the same 1702 code since 2017, with no reported delays or disruptions to business operations. Azcona emphasized that the concerns are speculative as the order hasn't been implemented yet and welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with stakeholders to find solutions. The SRA's decision to suspend SO 6 comes after they supported investigations into alleged price manipulation by sugar traders. Brown sugar prices were recorded at P65 to P85 per kilogram and white sugar at P90 per kilogram, resulting in losses for sugar farmers as farmgate prices dropped
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