The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said Monday local sugar production is poised to breach 2 million metric tons (MT) for crop year 2024-2025, above the initial projections.
“It was a combination of intensive research and the hard work that you’ve all done that turned this crop year into a positive year,” SRA administrator Pablo Luis Azcona said during the agency’s 39th founding anniversary celebration at the SRA office in Quezon City.
Azcona said field data indicate that sugar output may exceed 2 million MT, higher than the initial forecast of 1.78 million MT and the pre-final estimate of 1.84 million MT.
“This is quite surprising considering the challenges the industry faced at the start of the crop year. We were very prudent in our projections because we had just come out of a prolonged drought caused by El Niño. And yet, our canes recovered nicely, not to mention the stable sugar prices we’ve maintained for most of the season,” he said.
Azcona credited part of the production rebound to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s approval to move the start of the harvest season from August to October of any given year, allowing better crop maturity.
He also cited the continued support of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., who has pushed for SRA to become the country’s leading research agency for sugarcane.
Highlighting the role of innovation, Azcona said much of this year’s output gain came from the mass production and distribution of high-yielding sugarcane varieties.
“Personally, I was not a believer in SRA-developed varieties in the past. But without a doubt, we have produced very high-quality cane varieties that significantly boosted output,” he said.
He lauded SRA employees for exceeding expectations and working as a cohesive system, but reminded them not to rest on their laurels.
“This year’s improvement is a product of a very responsive SRA. We have improved, we’ve shown that we can do it, and we can still do more,” Azcona said.
