THE Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said refined sugar imports will help maintain a two-month reserve before the start of the next harvest.
“We have ample stocks until the imports arrive. We (seek to) maintain a two-month buffer stock, and we hope our refineries will be up and running in December,” SRA Administrator Pablo Luis S. Azcona said in a statement on Monday.
Sugar Order (SO) No. 5, allowed imports of up to 240,000 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar to increase inventories when mills are closed to ensure stable supply and prices.
On the sidelines of a budget hearing, he said that a two-month inventory was about 320,000 to 350,000 MT.
As of July 21, the refined sugar inventory was 396,339 MT, down 18% from a year earlier, according to the SRA.
He added that the actual volume of imports would be “more or less” 176,000 MT of refined sugar.
SO 5 is open to licensed SRA international sugar traders in good standing who imported under SOs 2 and 3. — Adrian H. Halili
