PLANTERS want the millgate price of raw sugar to settle at least at P2,600 per 50-kilo bag, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said.
SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said sugarcane farmers called for a minimum P2,600 millgate price ahead of the official start of the milling season for crop year 2026-2027 on October 1.
‘The farmers are asking for at least P2,600 [per bag] as a minimum. I don’t know if we can hit it or not,’ Azcona told reporters, noting that deciding the millgate price is not within its mandate.
Despite this, the SRA chief added that the figure could be favorable for the farmers: ‘If you look at the inventory numbers, it’s very favorable for the farmers.’
Azcona attributed this to lower year-on-year stockpile against the backdrop of growing demand for the sweetener.
SRA data showed that raw sugar output fell by 11 percent to 1.85 million metric tons (MMT) in crop year 2025-2026, from 2.08 MMT in the previous CY.
Two-decade low
EARLIER, the SRA said it expects raw sugar output in crop year 2026-2027 to plunge to 1.662 MMT, the lowest level in more than two decades.
Azcona noted that local raw sugar production could plummet in the upcoming crop year owing to the impact of red-striped soft scale insects (RSSI) on sugarcane fields, citing ‘early estimate’ from the SRA’s research department.
If this materializes, the latest production figures will be the lowest level recorded since the 1.619 MMT in crop year 1999-2000.
He noted, however, that the agency will come up with a mid-milling estimate.
To counter the impact of RSSI, the SRA is banking on a national task force to combat sugar pests and disasters that threaten to crimp the sweetener’s output.
The agency, along with the Department of Agriculture (DA), recently finalized a proposal urging President Marcos to create a national task force for sugar pests and disasters.
The call for a coordinating task force was borne out of scattered information about RSSI that sugarcane farmers and stakeholders were getting across social media sites.
‘This will help us unify the efforts while ensuring that the information received by farmers is correct,’ Azcona said.