MANILA – The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said Thursday it would delay the enforcement of Sugar Order (SO) 6, or the guidelines on the importation of certain sugar and sugar confectionery, to address concerns on these import rules.
This came after the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) sent a letter to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., raising such concerns as possible import processing delays, costs of compliance, and the possible increase of prices of beverages and confectionery products affecting Filipino consumers.
“We just have to make sure that everybody’s comfortable with the order. Supposedly, February 1. So, we delayed it po na hanggang makausap natin sila (until we talk to them),” SRA Administrator Luis Pablo Azcona said in an interview.
“They’ve never actually talked to us yet. So, maiintindihan naman po na meron silang speculative fears na baka ma-delay, baka tataas iyong (So, it’s understandable that they have speculative fears on the possible delay or an increase in) cost. But all of that will be answered if they talk to SRA and the DA (Department of Agriculture).”
In terms of processing import clearances, Azcona allayed their concerns on the probable delay, noting that the SRA has never received any complaint on the matter.
“Every year we issue thousands of import clearances for a lot of things — molasses, sugar, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)… And iyong maximum working time po noon is (and the maximum working time for that is) three working days. If their shipments will be 15 days, they have 15 days to apply. So pagdating dito po, ready na iyong clearance nila, sigurado iyan (when it arrives here, their clearances are ready. That is certain),” he said.
Azcona also mentioned setting up an online portal to speed up the timeframe.
The SRA chief said there is also no reason to increase the cost of beverages and confectionery products, considering the “minimal” fees set.
“The fee that is being charged is 0.08 percent of their cost. Hindi naman po maintindihan, ba’t mo pa itataas iyong bilihin (We cannot understand, why would you need to increase the prices of the products)?” he said, noting that it is only equivalent to 0.06 centavos per kg., PHP3 per bag, or PHP60 per ton.
Azcona said the set fee is 10 times lower than fees set for sugar and HFCS.
Despite the delay in the enforcement of SO 6, he cited the need to gather technical data on other sugar imports, prevent misdeclaration, assess actual demands and substitutes, and come up with an “effective” sugar supply plan.
Azcona reiterated that all sugars and their by-products fall under the jurisdiction of the SRA. (PNA)