Negros Occidental gov calls for ‘compassionate’ pricing of sugar

BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL — Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said he hopes the buying price of sugar hits P3,000 per 50-kilogram bag (Lkg) to enable farmers to survive.

“We cannot compel the traders to buy at the price we want [but] we are hoping they understand the situation and are more compassionate,” he said.

This crop year, the country is estimated to produce 1.6 million metric tons of sugar, and he hopes the farmers can average P3,000 per LKg to make it sustainable, Lacson said.

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READ: Planters, labor groups decry low sugar prices

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At the current P2,600 per bag, even efficient farms will just break even, so you can imagine what will happen to small farmers, he added.

The good sign is that recent events show the sugar industry has united against the importation of sugar, he said.

READ: Planters, labor groups renew call for higher millgate sugar prices

“I hope the unity among the sugar leaders will continue,” Lacson added.

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A confederation of sugar planters’ groups and labor unions in the sugar industry earlier called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to urgently address sugar millgate prices, warning that current market rates are below production costs and threaten the survival of local farmers.

Market data from the first weeks of October shows average raw sugar mill-gate prices in Negros Occidental hovering at around P2,600 per 50-kilogram bag (LKg), they said in a joint press statement.

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The group is now pushing for a baseline mill-gate price of at least P2,900 per LKg to help planters cover surging expenses for fertilizer, fuel, hauling, and farm labor. /cb