THE government excluded imported sugar from the minimum access volume (MAV) scheme next year owing to ample stocks and stable retail prices.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has officially opened applications for MAV 2026 for pork, poultry meat, chipping potato, corn, coffee beans, and coffee extract.
This marked the third year that the DA did not open a sugar MAV, as government officials noted that the country’s current inventory remains sufficient.
Earlier, Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona hinted that the government would likely exclude imported sugar from the MAV scheme in 2026.
‘The way we’re managing our sugar stocks, I don’t think there’s any need for MAV,’ Azcona told the BusinessMirror in a previous interview.
‘We have no shortage, the supply is stable, and the prices are also stable. So for now, I don’t think there’s a need for it,’ he added.
The Philippines last allowed sugar MAV in 2023 after the average retail price of refined sugar skyrocketed to P100 per kilo in the latter part of 2022 from P53 per kilo in the previous year as stockpiles were depleted.
The average price of refined sugar in Metro Manila remains stable at P87 per kilo, while raw sugar settled at P73 per kilo, latest SRA reports showed.
Meanwhile, the DA said the applications under the MAV program next year for the said commodities will run from November 2 to 29, 2025.
The available allocations for MAV 2026 include 54,210 metric tons (MT) of pork, 23,490 MT of poultry meat, 60,000 MT of chipping potatoes, 1,457 MT of coffee beans, 216,940 MT of corn, and 37 MT of coffee extract.
The DA cautioned, however, that new entrants should have a record of importing at least 9 MT of pork and poultry, 6 MT of potatoes, 12.5 MT of corn and 6 MT of coffee.
Imports made via the MAV scheme enjoy a lower tariff for shipments falling under the in-quota allocation compared to the out-quota allocation which is slapped with a higher tariff rate.