NFA asked to give up importation role

Sugar producers urged the National Food Authority (NFA) to relinquish its authority to import sugar, saying this practice hurts the interest of local sugar planters.

Reacting to NFA’s statement that sugar importations prevented unreasonable increases in local sugar prices, the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters Inc. (NFSP) said the state-owned trading agency’s importations are done without prior consultations and coordination with the sugar industry.

"This disrupts the sugar supply in the domestic market which the Sugar Regulatory Administration is mandated to maintain at levels that stabilize sugar prices… and benefit both producers and consumers," NFSP president Enrique D. Rojas said.

"The financial pressure on NFA stock accumulations from its sugar-buying program and importation forces untimely releases of its sugar stocks into the domestic market without coordination with the major players in the industry. This hinders free competition which is the best way to keep prices stable," Rojas added.

Local sugar producers and the NFA have been at odds over NFSP’s accusations the former is inept at handling the importation of sugar causing a skid in local sugar prices each time imported sugar floods the domestic market.

NFA acting administrator Domingo F. Panganiban said earlier such charges are baseless. He said NFA’s importations are based on legal mandates provided under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) and on executive orders issued by the President.

NFSP has even proposed the creation of a Philippine Sugar Act (PSA) to take over the handling of sugar importation from NFA.

Panganiban justified NFA’s actions, saying high sugar prices in 1998 forced Congress last year to integrate in the GAA the importation of sugar by NFA under the minimum access volume (MAV) scheme to protect the public from high prices resulting from short supply.

He added that for this year, the NFA bought 51,000 metric tons under the MAV, while 150,000 MT was supposed to be imported by the private sector under Executive Order 263 signed by President Estrada.

While NFA imported the allocated volume, the private sector did not. Eventually, the SRA asked NFA to undertake the importation of the 100,000 MT but constrained by lack of funds, the agency was only able to import a minimum volume of 50,000 MT.

"Essentially, the timely intervention by NFA prevented the glut of sugar in the local market, and in fact, benefitted the sugar farmers and the general public," Panganiban added.