DA to blacklist two consignees of smuggled sugar

Metro Manila, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture (DA) has ordered the blacklisting of two consignees over the smuggling and misdeclaration of sugar worth P9 million.

The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said the total volume found in the shipments were 2,000 50-kilogram bags of refined sugar. It said these could have been sent to manufacturers or retailers in Metro Manila.

In a statement on Thursday, May 29, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Roxas City-based Lapaz Multi-purpose Cooperative imported refined sugar from Thailand which arrived in April without a permit or import allocation.

The DA said Yabai OPC imported refined sugar from Vietnam, but declared it as a sweet mixed powder, which has a lower tariff. The shipment arrived in January.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the shipment was initially found to have “traces of bacteria,” but he said the SRA will do a retest.

Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said the consignees violated the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act.

“‘Yong dalawang consignee, registered sa SRA, actually, pinapa-blacklist ko na,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. told reporters during their inspection at the port of Manila.

[Translation: The two consignees were registered with SRA, and I have ordered the SRA to blacklist them.]

Tiu Laurel said the consignee of the misdeclared refined sugar worth around P30 million from Vietnam, which arrived at Subic port in March, has also been ordered to be blacklisted.

Pest infestation hits 180 hectares of Negros’ sugar fields

Meanwhile, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona reported that at least 186 hectares of sugarcane fields in 12 areas in Negros Occidental were hit by red-striped soft scale insects as of May 26.

Azcona said 115 farmers were affected.

He earlier said the pest can reduce sugar content by almost half, and warned that the infestation could “increase production cost and can threaten the industry’s stability in general” if not controlled.

“Sa Negros kasi it’s harvest season, so ‘yung mga sugarcane and ‘yung trucks and ‘yung tao po lipat-lipat north to south, medyo mahirap ‘yung control a bit,” the SRA chief told reporters. “But once harvest is over this month, it will be a lot easier to contain.”

[Translation: It’s harvest season in Negros so sugarcanes, trucks, and personnel are on the move from north to south so control is a little bif difficult. But once harvest is over this month, it will be a lot easier to contain.]

The SRA earlier said some farmers have begun planting their sugar canes for the next cropping season.

Azcona said the SRA has applied for an emergency-use permit for suggested insecticides to prevent the spread of the pest infestation.