Philippine government to sell sugar at fixed price to curb inflation

THE Philippine government plans to start selling refined sugar to consumers at a fixed price, the Department of Agriculture said on Monday (Oct 17), a temporary measure to ensure ample supply of the sweetener at affordable prices and to curb inflation.

The government has asked sugar importers to commit 10 per cent of their imports allocation for crop year 2022/23 to be sold through the department or the Sugar Regulatory Administration at 70 pesos (S$1.70) per kilogramme, it said in a statement.

Refined sugar prices jumped to more than 100 pesos per kg in recent months on local markets, almost double the level at the end of 2021, prompting the government to appeal to traders to reduce prices by as much as 40 per cent.

Philippine inflation is running at a four-year high, driven mainly by skyrocketing food prices.

The South-east Asian country is importing an additional 150,000 tonnes of refined sugar this year, as local production missed forecasts. Half of this will be brought in by industrial users, including beverage manufacturers.

The market intervention is a rare move by authorities as trading has usually been undertaken by the private sector and the Department of Agriculture said it will last until most of the country’s sugar mills start fully operating. It gave no timeline. REUTERS