Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 25) — The milling season for sugar will take place in September instead of August to improve local production this year, Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) acting administrator Pablo Azcona said Tuesday.
“‘Yung gusto po natin is ibalik talaga sa proper start of the crop year [We really want to bring back milling season to the proper start of the crop year] — September 1,” Azcona told reporters.
“‘Yung main reason lang naman po talaga na (nag-uumpisa) nang early ‘yung farmers is because (nagbubukas) po ‘yung sugar mills [The main reason that farmers start early is because sugar mills open]. What they do is they say it’s just the reopening of old crops,” he added.
Azcona pointed out production is lower in August amid the rainy season.
He cited as an example the total yield that amounted to about ₱2.5 billion in September 2022, higher than the ₱1.8 billion the month prior. This meant a loss of about ₱700 million for around 5,750 farmers.
“We just want to set everything straight [….] and give the farmers the opportunity for better yield, so we would be less import dependent,” the SRA chief said.
