Antonio Steven Chan, president of the PhilippineIndependent Millers Association, yesterday said he is strongly objecting toSugar Regulatory Administration ordersthat have not only causedprices of “A” or US market sugar to drop, but have also rendered excess supply homeless .

Chan citedSugar Order No. 7, Series of 2011-2012, prescribing the deadline for verification of “A” sugar or U.S.quota sugar on January 31, which he said effectively rendered all production of “A”sugar starting January 30 “homeless”, and Sugar Orders 9 and 9–A Series of 2010-2011 that even now continue to hurt the producers interest as they have caused prices of A sugar to drop.

Chan said the SRA should set the amount of sugar to be allocated as Abased on the share given to the Philippines under the US sugar quota.

If the SRA sets the amount of sugar to be allocated as A above the US quota share of the country it drives prices down and renders the excess homeless to the detriment of sugar producers, Chan said.

Chan also charged that the SRA sugar orders on A sugarhave allowed favored traders to own and controlthe country’s share of the US sugar quota.

Hesaid a select group ismonopolizing all the planning and discussion on sugar policies to the prejudice of the rest.

SRA has been allowing traders to convert their "B" quedans into "A" quedans, artificially inflating our supply of "A", he charged.

“Without need therefore of buying our natural "A",these few traders are able to enter our U.S.quota, effectively displacing us producers from our own U.S.Quota homes,” Chan said.

By changing the rules, SRA has deprived producers ofan "alternative market", which it gave to the traders, he said.

In response, SRA head Gina Martin said the program is open to all, whichclearly illustrates that it did not favor the alleged few players.

“The rights over the US sugar quota is given to the Philippines as an ally of the US. The issuances of SRA through sugar orders facilitated the compliance with the additional quota given last year. There was not enough A at that time, and there was so much B due to the unexpected increase in production. Thus, the only physical sugar available were B sugar, and the advance-swapping scheme enabled the country to fulfill its US commitment. The role of our international traders is to facilitate this trade who have the contracts with the US refineries, “ she said.

On the allegation of over-allocation, Martin said8 percent allocation of A was computed based on the estimated production for this crop year. It also took into consideration the replenishment program as mandated in the advance-swapping program, she said.

Thus, based on market forces and supply-demand conditions, the A may either be shipped out or used as replenishment. Naturally, when the quota is fulfilled, the remaining As will have to be replenished, she said.

On the fear of homeless sugar, Martin said that, as stated in the sugar order, the verified As were enough to fulfill the quota.

“Thus, what is there to verify when the volume is already filled up? If additional quota is given, the verification will resume,” she said.

“For the past year, the A price has been lower than B. For this year, it started at a higher price. But it is just within the level of the B. Again, the fundamentals of the market will dictate the price of all classes of sugar. With the news of additional quota as probable, the price has remained stable,” sheadded.*CPG

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