No sugar MAV next year as stocks remain ample

MANILA, Philippines — The government will not open the minimum access volume (MAV) for sugar next year, as the country has ample stocks and retail prices of the commodity remain stable, contrasting with the dire supply situation two years ago.

For the second straight year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will not open a sugar MAV as authorities deem the current supply sufficient, especially with the ongoing importation program.

The DA has already begun accepting applications for the 2025 MAV, with sugar excluded from the list. For next year, only pork, chicken meat, potatoes, chipping potatoes, coffee beans, coffee extracts and corn will have their respective MAVs open.

Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) administrator and CEO Pablo Azcona said the country’s current sugar stock position is in stark contrast to the situation in 2022, when the government last opened the MAV to augment the domestic supply.

“At the moment, we have ample sugar stocks, and we are already milling. Retail prices have also been stable since November 2023,” Azcona told The STAR.

The last time the sugar MAV was opened was last year, after the retail price of refined sugar surged past P100 per kilo in late 2022 due to depleting stocks. Before that, the last time sugar importation was made available through the MAV system was in 2002.

Imports made within the MAV, or in-quota imports, are levied with a lower tariff rate compared to imports outside the mechanism. Imported sugar within MAV is levied with a 50-percent tariff, compared to a 65-percent tariff rate for imports outside it.

However, unlike other commodities, sugar does not have its MAV mechanism open regularly each year because of the power vested in the SRA to oversee the industry, including importation programs.

As of Oct. 13, about 126,408 metric tons (MT) out of the 240,000 MT approved import volume under Sugar Order 5 for the crop year 2023-2024 have arrived in the country, based on the latest SRA data.

The latest SRA reports also show that the average price of refined sugar in Metro Manila remains stable at P84.62 per kilo while raw sugar fetches P76.15 per kilo.