Cushion Middle East crisis impact on sugar industry, government urged

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

March 8, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The government has been asked to cushion the impact of the Middle East crisis on the local sugar industry by providing sugarcane farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries fertilizer assistance and other subsidies.

The Confederation of Sugar Producers Association Inc. said the Department of Agriculture should “take up the cudgels for the agriculture sector” and implement the “purchase-and-park” sugar buying program proposed by the Confed.

“The first two measures are intended to help farmers in general, while the government-financed sugar buying program is proposed as the only real source of relief for sugar producers who continue to suffer from declining mill gate prices,” Confed president Aurelio Valderrama said in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.

Valderrama said that fuel and fertilizer prices are rising as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.

“If not controlled, this will have a disastrous impact on food production and overall agricultural output, with farmers being the most affected,” Valderrama said.

He said he is willing to join a technical working group that will draft the implementing rules of the sugar buying program.

During a meeting with Valderrama and National Congress of Unions in the Sugar Industry of the Philippines president Roland dela Cruz, Sugar Regulatory Administration chief Pablo Luis Azcona agreed to endorse the buying program being pushed by the Confed and NACUSIP.

Valderrama stressed the need for a continuous dialogue to properly address the situation.

He said that stakeholders should always collaborate with each other for the good of the industry.