In line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to strengthen national initiatives towards the campaign against agricultural smuggling, the Department of Agriculture – Office of the Assistant Secretary for Inspectorate and Enforcement (DA-IE) seized thirty (30) containers of refined sugar smuggled under consignee MFBY CONSUMER GOODS TRADING.

Following the issuance of an alert order from the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the DA-IE, in partnership with the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), conducted an operation on March 15, 2023, at the Port of Subic (POS), which led to the confiscation of the smuggled items.

The team found misdeclared agricultural products that were purported to consist of merely slipper outsoles and styrene butadiene rubber.

Upon inspection, it was revealed that the shipment contained 520 bags (50kg/bag) or a total of 780,000 kilos refined sugar. At P110/kilo prevailing price, the cargo amounts to approximately P85 million.

The DA will initiate prosecution against the consignee for the misdeclaration and misclassification of the shipment, pursuant to Republic Act No. 10611, the Food Safety Act of 2013, and Republic Act No. 10845, or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016. ###