Pest attack continues to threaten sugar industry

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The country’s sugar production may decrease to one million tons next year if the infestation caused by the red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) on sugarcane plantations in the Visayas will not be contained, according to the United Federation of Sugar Producers.

UNIFED president Manuel Lamata warned that the rapid spread of RSSI is serious threat to the sugar industry, particularly in Negros Island Region, which accounts for about 65 percent of the country’s sugar production.

At a meeting with officials of the Sugar Regulatory Administration, representatives of local government units (LGUs) and other stakeholders on Friday, Lamata said the recently concluded cropping season showed the impact of the infestation, with sugar output declining by 20 percent or from 2.1 million tons in 2025 to 1.8 million  tons this year.

“If we do nothing now, we are going to produce only one million tons next year,” Lamata said, noting that the decline will have severe economic consequences for Negros and the country’s sugar industry.

Of the 190,314.19 hectares of sugarcane fields in Negros Occidental about 61,242 hectares or 32.18 percent have been destroyed by the pest.

Lamata urged LGUs to declare a localized state of calamity in order to access local disaster funds instead of waiting assistance from the national government.