El Niño won’t affect sugar production, says SRA

Despite the anticipated arrival of the El Niño this year, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) expressed optimism that sugar production will not be adversely affected due to contingency measures already in place, The STAR learned yesterday.

SRA Administrator Nicolas Alonso said the regulatory body is confident that its objective of producing at least 1.7 million metric tons this year will be achieved, considering that the dreaded phenomenon has "telegraphed its arrival, allowing us to prepare for it."

"Of course, we have anticipated it and we have been ready," said Alonso. "Aside from that, we have proven that after every drought that we experience, we always bounce back with a bumper crop."

"I do agree with the forecast that the industry will be affected by the El Niño," he added. "But it has to be stressed also that we have formulated contingency plans just in case it will hit as ferociously as predicted."

Alonso, however, declined to divulge the details of the contingency measures which, he said, have been outlined in the agency’s growth forecast for this year.

Newly-installed Agriculture Secretary Domingo Panganiban told The STAR recently that the El Niño will hit the country by the second quarter of this year, with the corn and sugar industries bearing the brunt of its harsh effects.

Despite the El Niño, Panganiban said rice production targets for this year will be attained, considering that irrigation systems around the country have been fully rehabilitated to help the industry maintain its level of productivity.

He explained that the agriculture department has always made it a point to prepare for any productivity problems that may arise especially during the summer months.

"Because of the high level of preparedness we enjoy every second quarter of every year, the El Niño will come at a time when rice production can survive it," Panganiban said.

The El Niño, previously expected to hit the country during the first quarter this year, appears to have "rescheduled its arrival," he added. "Otherwise, it would have been difficult to deal with."