Sugarmen urge GMA to name SRA head

Amidst sagging domestic sugar prices and intense competition posed by cheap, dumped imported products, the Philippine sugar industry has called on President Arroyo to appoint a sugar czar who can effectively stir the local industry towards improved productivity and increased competitiveness.

The Philippine Sugar Millers Association (PSMA) and the Confederation of Sugar Producers Associations (Confed), the country’s biggest aggrupations of sugar producers, endorsed yesterday the appointment of James Cristopher L. Ledesma Sr. as the new administrator of the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).

PSMA and Confed members account for more than 65 percent of the country’s total sugar production.

Ledesma, a respected industry member, was the founding chairman and one of the brains behind the private sector-led Philippine Sugar Research Institute (Philsurin), a sugar research and development organization. He was chairman from 1994 to last year.

He has an AB Mathematics degree and BS Mechanical Engineering degree from De La Salle University, graduating cum laude, and was a straight honor student since elementary.

He is also chairman of Confed Panay-Negros chapter and was vice president of Confed national and has represented the sugar industry in several international conferences.

PSMA executive director Jose Ma. Zabaleta and Confed national president Bernardo Trebol have expressed their belief that Ledesma has the right qualities to make a good SRA administrator.

The appointment of an SRA administrator with honesty and integrity comes at a crucial time when the local sugar industry is faced with intense competition brought about by trade liberalization.