Raw sugar output exceeds forecast

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s raw sugar output in the current crop year reached over 1.8 million metric tons (MT), surpassing the government’s initial estimate of 1.78 million MT, latest figures showed.

Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) data showed that raw sugar production as of May 4 stood at almost 1.82 million MT, about 40,000 MT higher than the initial estimate for crop year 2024-2025.

However, the output is still five percent lower compared to the nearly 1.92 million MT recorded production in the same period last year, based on SRA data.

The lackluster raw sugar production in the current crop year was a result of the ill effects of the El Niño phenomenon last year on local sugarcane.

Nonetheless, SRA administrator and CEO Pablos Luis Azcona said the higher than expected raw sugar output was a result of the government’s interventions on sugarcane farms nationwide.

One of which, Azcona pointed out, was changing the sugarcane cropping calendar to adapt to the worsening climate conditions.

Furthermore, the development and utilization of newer sugarcane varieties as well as improved soil health conditions and better irrigation systems helped farmers sustain their production, Azcona added.

“We attribute the (current) production (volume) to increase in sugarcane tonnage per hectare planted,” Azcona told The STAR.

The country has milled 22.46 million MT of sugarcane as of May 4, about five percent higher than the 21.45 million MT recorded last year, based on SRA data.

Azcona said he expects raw sugar output in the current crop year to settle at around 1.85 million MT, about 3.65 percent lower than last year’s 1.92 million MT.

“We hope next milling we will get higher tonnage and most importantly, more sugar per ton of cane,” he said.

The average sugar recovery in the current crop year fell by 9.44 percent year-on-year to 1.63 50-kilogram bags of sugar for every MT of sugarcane milled from 1.80, SRA data showed.

The US Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service earlier projected that raw sugar output in the current crop year will hit 1.85 million MT. The international agency expects the country’s raw sugar production to remain flat in the next crop year.