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The Minimum Access Volume Advisory Council will meet shortly to take up Malacanang’s order to speed up the importation of 64,050 metric tons of refined sugar to stabilize local sugar prices
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The Department of Agriculture is calling the meeting at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s instruction to stabilize local sugar prices
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Marcos is “concerned” about sugar’s “very high inflation rate” of 38%
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. moved a step closer to approving sugar imports following an order from the Department of Agriculture (DA), which he concurrently heads, to convene an advisory council that would expedite such imports.
Under Memorandum Order No. 77 series of 2022 dated December 20, DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban directed director Dr. Jocelyn Salvador to “immediately convene” the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) Advisory Council to hasten imports of 64,050 metric tons of refined sugar through the MAV mechanism in order to stabilize sugar prices on the local market. Salvador is OIC executive director of the council secretariat.
Stakeholders are against the importation, citing adequate supply.
Panganiban said Marcos was “concerned” with the “very high inflation rate” of sugar, confectionery and desserts, which has reached 38% based on the latest Summary Inflation Report Consumer Price Index released on December 6, 2022.
The MAV refers to the volume of quantity of a specific agricultural commodity that may be imported with a lower tariff.
Last August, Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian resigned following the issuance of a sugar importation order supposedly unauthorized by Marcos. Sugar Order No. 4 would have allowed the importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar.
But in September, Marcos, through Sugar Regulatory Administration Sugar Sugar Order No. 2, approved the importation of 150,000 MT of refined sugar as part of the sugar importation program for crop year 2022-2023 to ensure domestic supply and manage sugar prices. Marcos is also chair of the SRA.
