Philippines OKs importation of 424,000 MT refined sugar

The Philippine government, through the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), has approved the importation of nearly half a million metric tons (MT) of refined sugar later this year.

In its Sugar Order No. 08, series of 2024-2025, the SRA allowed the entry of a total of 424,000 MT of imported refined sugar, which should arrive in the country starting July 15, 2025, until not later than November 30, 2025.

The agency said the sugar import program was meant "to ensure that the country [would] continue to have sufficient actual supply of sugar for domestic consumption and buffer stock.”

The importers who will be allowed to bring in the required refined sugar volume are licensed international sugar traders in "good standing," those who have joined the government’s past sugar importation calls, and those who participated in the export of raw sugar to the US to fulfill the Philippines’ tariff rate quota.

The agency added that the imported refined sugar under the latest order should be classified as “reserve” to be subjected to “future disposition or reclassification, as the SRA deems necessary.”

"Imported sugar classified under this SO shall only be stored in an SRA-registered warehouse or directly to the consumer’s warehouse as indicated in the importer’s application," the SRA order said.

"However, the declared consumer’s warehouses must be pre-inspected to avoid co-mingling of imported sugar stocks and domestic sugar stocks," it added.

The SRA had earlier reported that sugar production for crop year 2024 to 2025, as of June 8, 2025, stood at 2.015 million MT, up 4.7% from 1.92 million MT in crop year 2023 to 2024. –NB, GMA Integrated News